House Speaker Paul Ryan once again showed what a total weasel he is in his assessment of Donald Trump’s debate performance. Ryan offered up a glowing review:
“I saw Donald Trump give a spirited voice to those of us who don’t like the status quo, and I see emerging in front of us the potential for what a unified Republican government can get you, which can be the solutions,” Ryan said at a news conference Tuesday. “I think he passed a number of thresholds... and showed that for 90 minutes he could go toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton.”
But then he fell back on his usual excuse for not condemning the condemnation-worthy things Trump says:
Other Republicans said one of Trump's weaker moments came when Clinton attacked him for calling a former beauty pageant “Miss Piggy” when she later gained weight. Trump doubled-down on those Tuesday morning on Fox News.
Asked about Trump's remarks Tuesday, Ryan said “I’m not going to comment on something I didn’t see.”
Isn’t it convenient how Ryan never seems to see the things Trump says that it would be inconvenient for him to see?
It was part of the debate when Trump said the offensive things he then doubled down on Tuesday, and Ryan saw the debate—but he can’t even comment on that. Funny, right? Can he comment on the general idea of calling a Miss Universe winner “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping?” After all, Ryan thinks that Trump “showed that for 90 minutes he could go toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton,” so presumably the part of the debate where Trump responded to Clinton on “Miss Piggy” by saying something about Rosie O’Donnell and talking about how he wasn’t going to talk about Bill Clinton’s sexual history is part of that 90 minutes of going toe-to-toe.
Nothing? Ryan’s got nothing?
Of course not. Paul Ryan wants Donald Trump to be president even more than he wants himself to look principled. And being principled? Ryan is doing that. It’s just that screwing poor people is the principle he’s most interested in defending, and he can best accomplish that if Donald Trump becomes president.