A New York Observer article used an anonymous source this week to theorize that a scheduled meeting between House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican donors may be part of a larger conspiracy by the so-called “GOP establishment” to snatch the party’s nomination from the current crop of presidential candidates.
The report, “EXCLUSIVE: Paul Ryan to Attend Secret Donor Meeting Next Week in Manhattan Despite Denials,” is based entirely on persistent rumors and the say-so of a single, nameless source.
The Observer is published by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who more recently co-authored a speech that the billionaire businessman delivered in March to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
As speaker, it is not unusual for Ryan to meet privately with donors, and raising cash is actually a key function of his office. Former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, did it before him, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was raising cash on the opposite side of the aisle before that, so the meeting next week with donors is not unusual.
While rumors are flying about Ryan, he has stated emphatically that he has zero interest in competing for the nomination should the Republican Party find itself in a brokered convention this summer.
He has also said repeatedly that he is uninterested in theories alleging the “GOP establishment” is plotting to draft him at the convention, thereby “stealing” the nomination from the other candidates, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
No RNC official has stated that the party is planning to draft a non-candidate at the convention, and no party official has hinted that this may be a possibility.
For now, the theory is an invention of media speculation.
Nevertheless, these unfounded theories have the Observer speculating this week about whether Ryan is playing “footsie with GOP money men” for something more than just fundraising.
“The Observer can now report that Todd Ricketts, the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs who is also the son of the founder of Ameritrade, is arranging a meeting of some of the GOP’s top financial bundlers, to be attended by Mr. Ryan,” the paper reported.
“The meeting is to take place next week at the Mandarin Hotel and will be comprised of a discussion with ‘twenty or so’ Republican donors,” it added.
The Observer reportedly learned of the scheduled off-the-record meeting next week between Ryan and “money men” from an anonymous source, whom the article claimed is a “top Republican donor.”
The source told the paper he is, “disgusted that … [Ryan] is saying one thing publicly but secretly trying to garner support with all of these NeverTrump people talking about all their strategies to subvert the people who are voting for Trump and Cruz.”
The nameless source reportedly declined an invitation to attend the donor event.
From there, the Observer goes on to outline how Ryan might try to steal the nomination away from candidates like Trump.
“Mr. Ryan now finds himself in the precarious position of the ‘late stage undeclared candidate.’ The Speaker has high-profile party figures such as Utah Senator Orrin Hatch talking about drafting him to unite the party if no candidate emerges victorious via the traditional way — as in, you know, winning the most votes,” the story reads. “On the other hand, the Republican base is in near revolt over the way their ballots are being ignored.”
“The idea that someone who has not endured these endless debates or made the case directly to the people swooping in at the last moment after being anointed by 20 rich guys in a fancy Columbus Circle hotel is unlikely to play well among a Republican base that even the New York Times sees as ‘in conflict with democracy,'” it added.
