Reality Check: Speaker Ryan on the State of American Politics

By: Meredith Kelly

RYAN:  “Our political discourse… did not use to be this bad.”

REALITY:  Ryan and his colleagues have helped fuel Trump-like discourse since at least 2010.

RYAN: “My dad used to say, if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem.”
REALITY: Ryan is part of the problem. Where was Ryan during any one of these hateful, divisive moments?

RYAN: “And instead of being timid, we go bold.”

REALITY: Despite being billed as a rebuke of Donald Trump, Ryan didn’t take on Trump by name even once (nothing new there).

RYAN: “I shouldn’t castigate a large group of Americans to make a point.”

REALITY: Ryan’s budget proposals would make drastic, harsh cuts to programs that working families rely on.

RYAN: “Politics can be a battle of ideas, not a battle of insults.”

REALITY: Ryan sat right next to Mitt Romney last night while Romney teased Donald Trump about his wives.

RYAN: If Congress can’t “raise our gaze” and “offer real solutions,” then “how can we expect anyone else to do the same?”

REALITY: If Paul “The Budget Guy” Ryan can’t get his caucus to agree on a budget, then how can he expect anyone to take him seriously?

BOTTOM LINE:

RYAN:

“And we always held ourselves to a higher standard of decorum. We treated each other with respect.”

“With so much at stake, the American people deserve a clear picture of what we believe. Personalities come and go, but principles endure.”

“All of us as leaders can hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity and decency. Instead of playing to your anxieties, we can appeal to your aspirations.”

“But we shouldn’t accept ugliness as the norm. We should demand better from ourselves and from one another.”

REALITY: Ryan has said repeatedly he will support Donald Trump as the GOP’s nominee.