Just moments after House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he wasn’t ready to support Donald Trump as the Republican nominee yet, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton emailed out his comments to her entire press list, emphasizing the growing divide within the GOP.
“On Tuesday, Donald Trump effectively captured the Republican nomination. Two days later, as Trump has repeatedly doubled down on his plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. and his support for mass deportation of immigrants, prominent activists, journalists, donors and elected officials in his own party continue to figure out what Hillary Clinton has argued all along: Donald Trump is too big a risk for America,” the Clinton campaign wrote in the press release.
The campaign went on to list over 30 prominent Republican politicians and noteworthy conservatives who have pledged not to vote for Trump in November with Ryan at the very top of the list. This is the third such list the campaign has sent out since Trump was named the presumptive GOP nominee on Tuesday night.
“I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now,” Ryan told CNN on Thursday afternoon, later adding that he hopes to be able to support Trump in the future.
The Democratic National Committee also reacted on Ryan’s decision not to support Trump, stating that Ryan and his colleagues “have no one to blame by themselves” for the situation.
“Well, that was awkward. Paul Ryan — the highest-ranking Republican in the country, and chair of the Republican National Convention — just said he can’t support Dangerous Donald Trump’s nomination for president,” DNC press secretary Mark Paustenbach said in a statement Thursday. “Even Ryan recognizes that Trump’s dangerous rhetoric is about to start poisoning down-ballot races, including his own previously safe seat in Wisconsin.”
He added, “Bring a hazmat suit if you’re one of the remaining Republican leaders still planning to stand with your nominee — Trump has gone radioactive.”
In general election polling, Clinton would beat Trump 47-40.8 percent according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
