Paul Ryan, a former speaker of the house, claims that any 2024 Republican presidential candidate, assuming they are not named Donald Trump, could defeat incumbent president Joe Biden, but that it would be "a disaster if we nominate Trump."
On Wednesday morning's episode of CNBC's Squawk Box, Mr. Ryan, a Trump foe and director of Fox News' parent company, made the comments.
The former speaker was questioned regarding remarks made by former Republican representative Liz Cheney on Tuesday at a conference, in which she cautioned Democrats that, should the former president win the GOP primary, they are "playing with fire" if they think they can defeat him in the 2024 general election.
Although Mr. Ryan acknowledged that Ms. Cheney was correct that Mr. Trump "could win," he added, "I think we lose with him."
Mr. Ryan said of the former president, "I think we're much more likely to lose — we haven't won anything with him since he first won in '16." "Without him, we would have won the Senate in 2022, but we lost the House in '18, the presidency in '20, and the Senate in '20."
Because Mr. Ryan works for Fox News, the host joked that Rupert Murdoch might tell him who to support, but the former speaker insisted: "I'm for anybody not named Trump."
Because, he continued, "if we nominate a Republican who isn't named Trump, I think we beat Biden for sure."
Although Mr. Ryan acknowledged that the Trump base disliked him for being a "Never Trumper," he insisted that voters would see that none of the other candidates had the same baggage as the outgoing president and that the party could win with any one of them.
In an interview with Squawk Box on Tuesday, current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed doubt that Mr. Trump was the Republican Party's strongest candidate.
Later, he had to retract those statements in an interview with Breitbart, apologize to the former leader over the phone, and send out a fundraising email declaring that Mr. Trump was more powerful than ever.
On Wednesday morning's episode of CNBC's Squawk Box, Mr. Ryan, a Trump foe and director of Fox News' parent company, made the comments.
The former speaker was questioned regarding remarks made by former Republican representative Liz Cheney on Tuesday at a conference, in which she cautioned Democrats that, should the former president win the GOP primary, they are "playing with fire" if they think they can defeat him in the 2024 general election.
Although Mr. Ryan acknowledged that Ms. Cheney was correct that Mr. Trump "could win," he added, "I think we lose with him."
Mr. Ryan said of the former president, "I think we're much more likely to lose — we haven't won anything with him since he first won in '16." "Without him, we would have won the Senate in 2022, but we lost the House in '18, the presidency in '20, and the Senate in '20."
Because Mr. Ryan works for Fox News, the host joked that Rupert Murdoch might tell him who to support, but the former speaker insisted: "I'm for anybody not named Trump."
Because, he continued, "if we nominate a Republican who isn't named Trump, I think we beat Biden for sure."
Although Mr. Ryan acknowledged that the Trump base disliked him for being a "Never Trumper," he insisted that voters would see that none of the other candidates had the same baggage as the outgoing president and that the party could win with any one of them.
In an interview with Squawk Box on Tuesday, current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed doubt that Mr. Trump was the Republican Party's strongest candidate.
Later, he had to retract those statements in an interview with Breitbart, apologize to the former leader over the phone, and send out a fundraising email declaring that Mr. Trump was more powerful than ever.
