Former House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said President Trump’s lack of knowledge about anything in government tempted him to “scold” the president, according to a new book titled “American Carnage.”
“I told myself I gotta have a relationship with this guy to help him get his mind right. Because, I’m telling you, he didn’t know anything about government. … I wanted to scold him all the time,” the Wisconsin Republican told book author and Politico correspondent Tim Alberta, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
In a separate segment published in Politico Magazine, Mr. Alberta writes that Mr. Ryan attempted to have then-RNC Chairman Reince Priebus “excommunicate” Mr. Trump from the 2016 ticket after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape where then-candidate Trump joked about sexually assaulting women.
Mr. Ryan, who retired in 2018 and is now a private citizen, said he and other lawmakers “really helped to stop him from making bad decisions” and reign in his impromptu style of governing.
“We helped him make much better decisions, which were contrary to kind of what his knee-jerk reaction was. Now I think he’s making some of these knee-jerk reactions,” he said.
“We’ve gotten so numbed by it all,” Mr. Ryan said, contemplating Trump’s behavior.
“Not in government, but where we live our lives, we have a responsibility to try and rebuild. Don’t call a woman a ’horse face.’ Don’t cheat on your wife. Don’t cheat on anything. Be a good person. Set a good example,” the former speaker said.
Mr. Trump reportedly did not have positive affirmations for Mr. Ryan either, calling him an “f——— Boy Scout,” according to Mr. Alberta.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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