Former House Speaker Paul Ryan has announced that he will not attend the 2024 Republican National Convention if former President Donald Trump wins the party’s nomination. The convention is scheduled to take place in Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin, and he has been vocal about his preference for the nominee to be “anyone not named Trump.”
In a recent interview with ABC 12, Ryan stated that his attendance at the convention would depend on who the nominee is. When asked if he would attend if the nominee were Trump, Ryan replied,
“It depends on who the nominee is. I’ll be here if it’s someone not named Trump,” he told WISN-TV on Saturday, adding he would even skip the event if it was in his home state.
“No, I’m not interested in participating in that, no. Even in Wisconsin.” Ryan has been a vocal critic of Trump and his leadership style, saying that if the party nominates him again, it will result in another loss.”
Ryan has been actively pushing for the Republican Party to nominate someone other than Trump for the 2024 presidential election. In an interview with Fox 6, Ryan stated that the party would lose again if they nominated Trump. He cited the losses in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 election cycles, and stated that it was clear that nominating Trump again would result in another loss for the party. Ryan believes that the party needs to nominate someone who is not named Trump if they want to win the election.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also commented, saying:
“The reason I don’t think he’ll be our nominee is because we now we’re going to lose with him,”
“He cost us the House in ’18, he lost the White House in ’20, he cost us the Senate in ’20, he cost us the Senate again in 2022, and he cost us probably a good dozen House seats in 2022. This is a lesson we don’t need to repeat again.”
Several candidates have already announced their campaigns for the Republican nomination, including Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. However, Ryan has made it clear that he does not support Trump and is hoping for a different nominee. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and possibly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Republican Party is expected to have a crowded field of candidates for the 2024 presidential election. With Ryan’s announcement that he will not attend the convention if Trump is nominated, it is clear that there is still a divide within the party between those who support Trump and those who believe that the party needs to move on. It remains to be seen who will ultimately win the nomination and whether the party can come together to support their nominee in the general election at a time when Trump is the leading most polls on who will be the GOP’s nominee in 2024.
