World News | Ex-Speaker Ryan to GOP: Reject Trump, '2nd-rate Imitations'

Washington, May 28 (AP) Emerging from two years of relative silence, former House Speaker Paul Ryan joined the fight against Donald Trump on Thursday, urging fellow conservatives to reject the former president's divisive politics and those Republican leaders who emulate him.

Ryan made his remarks during an evening address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. He was critical of both Republicans and Democrats, though he saved his sharpest barbs for Trump, who is by most measures the leader of the modern-day Republican Party.

“It was horrifying to see a presidency come to such a dishonourable and disgraceful end,” Ryan said, referring to the deadly attack on the US Capitol that Trump inspired on Jan 6.

“Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads,” Ryan continued.

“And here's the reality that we have to face: If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle. They will not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago.”

It's unclear how much impact Ryan's words will have in the broader fight for the future of the GOP, if any. Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, was among the most respected Republicans in the nation's capital before Trump's rise, but two years out of office, his open contempt for Trump is not in line with the vast majority of Republican voters and elected officials.

A tiny but growing group of anti-Trump Republicans has struggled to steer the party in a new direction, even as Trump continues to promote the same false claims — that he would have won the 2020 election if not for mass voter fraud — that inspired the Capitol insurrection. At the same time, Trump is openly contemplating another presidential run in 2024.

One of Trump's most vocal allies on Capitol Hill, Rep Lauren Boebert, R-Colo, lashed out at Ryan on Twitter ahead of the speech.

“It really is amazing that Paul Ryan, who is the reason the GOP lost the House in 2018, is going to come out today and blame Trump for the problems in the GOP,” she said, adding a shot at another Trump critic, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. “Paul, the problem is you and your pal Liz.”

Ryan spoke Thursday as the opening speaker for the Reagan library's “Time for Choosing” series, which will later feature 2024 Republican presidential prospects such as former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (AP)

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