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Paul Ryan: Donald Trump Must Reject Bigotry/KKK, But Ryan Would Still Vote For Him

By Stephen Jordan
Published on: 12:11 PST, Mar 2, 2016

House Speaker Paul Ryan is the latest politician to speak out against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. David Duke, former Ku Klux Klan leader, recently gave his public endorsement for Donald Trump, and when news media outlets turned to the presidential candidate to disavow Duke, Trump did no such thing. In fact, he fairly easily brushed it off and claimed he had no idea who David Duke was and seemed to have no clue about white supremacists in America. Donald Trump is indeed becoming more and more of a problem for the Republican party, with seemingly no way to stop him or slow him down.

On Super Tuesday this week, Donald Trump seems to be getting broad appeal as he earned seven wins across the country, according to CNN. In the conservative south, Trump dominated, winning over Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. In addition to that, Trump was able to capture the minds of more moderate voters in Massachusetts as well as Vermont. While Paul Ryan claims he will vote for whoever wins the Republican presidential nomination, he is also making it clear that the GOP does not stand for bigotry and racism.

“When I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country I will speak up,” Ryan told reporters. “So today I want to be very clear about something: If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican party there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry.”

But if Donald Trump were to be supported by Paul Ryan if he won the GOP nomination, that would seem to render these previous statements completely useless and meaningless. Ryan is clearly targeting Trump when discussing the abhorrence of bigotry, no other candidate in the Republican party is being openly endorsed by anyone affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. He’s distancing himself from the real estate mogul and establishing that he would not and does not support any kind of racism. But if he votes for him anyway…how much value or importance can really be placed into his statements?

“We are the party of Lincoln,” Ryan added. “We believe all people are created in the eyes of God and our government. This is fundamental. And if someone wants to be our nominee they must understand this.”

Donald Trump claims he does indeed disavow Duke and the Klu Klux Klan, claiming that he simply had a bad earpiece and couldn’t understand what was being asked when he was first questioned on Dukes public endorsement. But what about Trump’s statements about “temporarily” banning Muslims from the country? Isn’t this also problematic?

“I try to stay out of the day-to-day ups and downs of the primary,” Paul Ryan said. “But I’ve said when I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country I will speak up.”

Apparently, Paul Ryan has reached out to Donald Trump’s campaign, though details on what was said and whom they were said by are being kept secret. Ryan’s office also refused to speak on what Donald Trump said at his Tuesday night press conference. Trump stated that the House Speaker would have to “pay a big price” were he to refuse to support Trump. So, is Donald Trump threatening Paul Ryan or is he simply trying to get his attention? At this point, either one of those possibilities can’t be fully off the table. It’s clear Trump is no longer playing by the rules, and hasn’t been for some time, and he’s definitely stirring up a lot of fear within the GOP. But is any of this going to mean anything?

Will Donald Trump be supported by the GOP, even if he continues his downward spiral?

[Photo by John Moore/Getty Images]

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