At a town hall forum conducted by CNN and hosted by Jake Tapper, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan fielded a myriad of questions ranging from repealing and replacing Obamacare to his differences with the incoming Trump administration to whether he knows how to “dab” or not. (Spoiler alert: He does and he did.)
He promised viewers that a replacement to the Affordable Care Act would be put in place concurrently with moves to repeal the 2010 legislation. He sided with President-elect Trump on his desire to deport illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes and to build a border wall, but he also emphasized his desire to find a way for other illegal immigrants to “get right with the law” without “the rug getting pulled out from under (them).”
When the topic turned to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Ryan pretty much echoed the testimony of Trump’s cabinet nominees who have been grilled on the topic this week in their confirmation hearings. “Russia is a menace, a global menace, led by a man who is menacing. Vladimir Putin does not share our interests. He frustrates our interests,” he said.
And on the question of the reporting on the unverified dossier of damaging information about Trump that was allegedly included in an intelligence briefing for the president and president-elect, Ryan went straight after the media:
Ryan also reiterated Trump’s response to the media which was on full display at this week’s press conference. “I completely understand why he is frustrated that—what, eight, nine days before his inauguration—this junk gets thrown out there,” Ryan said. “I take issue with this even being talked about because it’s not even worthy of media.”
