Paul Ryan made headlines this morning when he announced he had voted for Donald Trump. Again, to clarify, the Republican House Speaker sent reporters scrambling because he pulled the voting booth lever for the Republican presidential nominee.
While that storyline approaches peak 2016, Ryan’s decision isn’t surprising. He continues to offer tepid support for Trump because he believes it’s in the best interest of the party and the nation.
Of course, there’s not much love between Trump and Ryan. The two couldn’t be farther apart. The speaker is a wholesome family man with an analytical head and a measured political approach. The nominee is a serial philanderer with a reputation for bravado and an appetite for conflict. While there’s been tension, the conservative speaker has remained consistent.
Even when the celebrity candidate attacked Ryan, the speaker continued to offer support. Sure, Ryan has rebuked Trump for his behavior. He’s told Republican members to go their own way. He’s even made clear he will no longer defend Trump’s behavior or stump for him. But he’s never rejected him altogether, because Ryan needs him to preserve his majority.
Red majorities are at risk with Trump. But they could just be gone without Ryan’s support of Trump. If the Republican rejected the nominee, if the speaker responded to Trump’s attacks, he’d only inflame the civil war inside the GOP conference. Plenty of members have already rattled sabers, but Ryan’s kept his conference from coming to blows before ballots are cast.
“We need to support our entire Republican ticket,” Ryan explained before clarifying and adding later that part of his job description is making sure “Nancy Pelosi doesn’t return as speaker of the House.” He can’t do that if sporadic infighting erupts into a full-scale conflict before Election Day.
The ballot announcement could also be an effort to smother that conflict before it begins. Last week, North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows questioned “the loyalty of the speaker.” This morning, Ryan reminded members who are looking for a reason to revolt where he’s been since June. He hasn’t appeared on stage with Trump since the convention, but he hasn’t revoked his endorsement either. Instead, he’s stumped down-ballot for members in tough House races.
Looking beyond the House, it could be that Ryan honestly prefers Trump to Hillary Clinton. He made a strong pitch to millennials, a key demographic with which some polls show the New York businessman has been gaining ground in recent days.
“The point I keep trying to make to younger voters who didn’t live through the 1990s: this is what life with the Clinton’s looks like,” Ryan said pointing to the FBI’s renewed investigation of the nominee’s email server. “It’s always a scandal, one after another.”
Then again, maybe Ryan’s just fibbing. Maybe the former vice presidential nominee wrote his own name in. But whatever the reason, Ryan’s announcement of his vote for Trump shouldn’t be surprising.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
