Behind the scenes, Ryan touts his agenda
in Cleveland, not Trump's
Send a link to a friend
[July 20, 2016]
By Ginger Gibson and Emily Stephenson
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker
Paul Ryan offered his strongest support yet for Donald Trump's White
House bid on Tuesday at the Republican National Convention, saying the
New York businessman he has repeatedly criticized provides America "a
chance at a better way."
Behind the scenes in Cleveland, the highest-ranking elected Republican
has been shopping a competing vision for the party, backed by some
wealthy donors and Republican establishment figures who see him as the
savior of a party thrown into turmoil by Trump's candidacy.
The support reflects deep divisions within the party over Trump's harder
line on stemming illegal immigration and his threats to scrap trade
deals that he says have hurt American workers but establishment
Republicans view as central to their free trade policies.
The split has created an identity crisis for the party, embodied in the
figures of Trump and Ryan.
"Everybody knows the tough spot Paul Ryan is in," said Annie Dickerson,
a New York delegate to the convention and close adviser to Republican
financier Paul Singer, referring to Ryan's dilemma in backing a
candidate as the party's standard bearer in the Nov. 8 presidential
election who does not represent many of its traditional values.
"He’s the antidote to all the frustration that’s in Cleveland this
week," she said, noting that despite a public push for unity, there are
those still unhappy with Trump's nomination.

Ryan, 46, is chairman of the convention at which Trump was officially
nominated on Tuesday. But he has kept a low profile, avoiding the
convention's opening day on Monday, and instead holding meetings with
state delegations and addressing private gatherings of Republican
supporters, according to aides and attendees.
At the meetings, according to attendees, Ryan has been pushing his
"Better GOP" platform, a six-part agenda that shares strong similarities
to the form of conservatism President George W. Bush advocated - reduced
regulation, lower taxes, and welfare reform. It contrasts with the
speeches typically delivered by Trump, who prefers to lambaste his
opponents and skip detailed policy discussions.
Doug Heye, a former House Republican leadership aide close to Ryan, said
Ryan's platform "gives them something that they can talk to constituents
about that isn’t divisive, that isn’t name calling."
POLITICAL SUICIDE
Heye said the approach could help Ryan position himself as the face of
the party if Trump loses the election.
Ryan has publicly clashed with Trump over the latter's promise to deport
millions of illegal immigrants and end trade deals. He criticized
Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country and
called his remarks about the heritage of a Mexican-American judge
racist.
Ryan supports free trade and comprehensive immigration reform, and as
chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, he authored a
document that called for a drastically reduced federal government.
[to top of second column] |

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan slams down the gavel as he declares
that Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential nomination
after announcing the results of a roll call vote at the Republican
National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 19, 2016.
REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

The risk for Ryan is that a swath of the party is moving away from
traditional Republican orthodoxy, and by not embracing Trump he
could find himself isolated. Some of Trump's supporters see him as
emblematic of the Washington dysfunction that has angered many
Republicans.
Mark Bolin, a Canton, Ohio, business owner who supports Trump,
called Ryan’s tepid endorsement of Trump “political suicide.” He
said Ryan and other Republicans leaders can’t admit their own
failures.
"Instead of them thinking there’s something wrong with their party,
they think it must be us, the American people aren’t smart enough,"
Bolin said.
Ryan has long been seen as a rising star and some wealthy donors
pushed Ryan, who was the vice presidential nominee in 2012, to run
for president this year. He declined but hasn't ruled out running in
the future.
Advisers to Singer and the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers
say the donors are banking on Ryan to carry the flag for traditional
Republican values.
"I like Ryan and his day to lead the party will come - very soon, if
Trump loses," said energy magnate Dan Eberhart, another major donor.
Linda Devore, 66, a retired attorney from Fayetteville, North
Carolina, who met Ryan for the first time in 2012, rushed over to
give him a hug when he arrived on Tuesday morning to speak to her
delegation at a hotel in the Cleveland.
"He’s just one of the smartest Republicans. That’s what I told him,”
Devore said. “He’s a quick wit. He said, 'Pretty low bar, huh?'”
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson and Emily Stephenson.; Additional
reporting be Amy Tennery, Emily Flitter, and Michelle Conlin;
Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Ross Colvin)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 |