Paul Ryan Releases ‘Presidential’ Campaign Ad? [Video]

House Speaker Paul Ryan released a brand new “campaign” ad today, in the 43-second ad, Ryan calls for ‘unity’ within the Republican Party. The advertisement is called “Politics These Days” and contains portions of Paul Ryan’s speech on the “state of American politics” delivered last month.

The advertisement has puzzled media observers, who have long speculated that Paul Ryan will run for president if the Republican race isn’t decided by the time a contested convention rolls around this summer. The campaign ad, says MSNBC, is “presidential” in tone, despite the Speaker’s continued denial that he is running for President, or that he would accept a Republican nomination for President if he was given one at this summer’s convention.

“What really bothers me the most about politics these days is this notion of identity politics: that we’re going to win an election by dividing people, rather than inspiring people,” says Paul Ryan in the uncharacteristically “presidential” video.

https://twitter.com/RDGluck/status/718544882445479936

According to MSNBC videos like the one Paul Ryan released today aren’t uncommon – but they tend to signal presidential ambitions, which Ryan flatly denies. However, as Slate points out, Paul Ryan has a history of declining nominations only to accept them later. When asked by the Republican congress to take the Speaker’s gavel, he said he wouldn’t, that he didn’t want the role. A short time later, Paul Ryan accepted the mantle, becoming Speaker of the House.

“Let’s have a battle of ideas. Let’s have a contest of whose ideas are better and why our ideas are better,” Paul Ryan states during his “campaign ad” today; as he speaks, inspiration music plays in the background.

MSNBC is quick to point out that video could very well be designed to speak to potential Republican delegates at this summer’s Republican National Convention – after all, it’s a message of unity that Paul Ryan espouses in the “presidential” video released today. The Paul Ryan ad was released on the Speaker’s website, causing many to speculate that the advertisement presages an official presidential run by Paul Ryan – who was a vice-presidential nominee in 2012.

“Our common humanity, and our common ideals, and our common culture… unify us,” says Paul Ryan in his “campaign” ad released today.

The Paul Ryan video combines quick cuts of the audience with close-ups of the House Speaker while inspirational music rises in the background, it has all the hallmarks of presidential advertisements – including some currently being shown in New York by the Sanders and Clinton campaigns, ahead of the New York primary.

Liberals & conservatives are going to disagree with one another. No problem. That’s what this is all about.https://t.co/GmKdRtQdWC

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) April 8, 2016

“We all want to be prosperous, we all want to be healthy, we want everybody to succeed. We want people to reach their potential in their lives,” said Paul Ryan in the advertisement released today, leading some to speculate on the Speaker’s presidential ambitions.

Paul Ryan’s office didn’t fully illustrate why they released the video, but a Ryan staffer did tweet that the video was not a “campaign ad” and an introductory statement released with the video stated that the video is an address to Americans who are “sick and tired” of politicians bickering over personal attacks rather than issues.

As recently as last week however, Paul Ryan stated that he had no interest in the presidential nomination, but no matter how often or how vehemently he denies presidential aspirations, media observers continue to claim that Ryan’s behavior suggests otherwise. Ryan continues to inspire speculation with moves like the release of today’s video.

Insiders, according to US News, like to point out that Paul Ryan claimed to have no interest in the position of House Speaker, right up until he accepted the job after John Boehner retired.

[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]