Republicans’ 2008 vice presidential nominee called Sunday for the party’s 2012 vice presidential nominee to be defeated in a primary, in perhaps the strongest sign yet that Donald Trump is tearing the GOP apart.
“I think Paul Ryan is soon to be ‘Cantored,’ as in Eric Cantor,” former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said on CNN’s “State of the Union” in reaction to the House speaker’s statement that he is not ready to back Trump for president.
She was referring to Eric Cantor, the Republican House majority leader, who was upset in a 2014 primary in Virginia by challenger Dave Brat.
“His political career is over but for a miracle because he has so disrespected the will of the people,” said Palin, a Trump supporter.
The former Alaska governor suggested that Ryan’s hesitancy to endorse Trump stems from his own ambitions.
“It kind of screws his chances for the 2020 presidential bid that he’s gunning for if the GOP were to win now,” she said. “That wouldn’t go well with his chances in 2020,” Palin added.
Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, faces a primary challenge from Paul Nehlen, who endorsed Trump soon after Ryan’s announcement.
“This man is a hard-working guy, so in touch with the people,” Palin said. “Paul Ryan and his ilk, their problem is they have become so disconnected by the people whom they are elected to represent.”
“They feel so threatened at this point that their power, their prestige, their purse will be adversely affected by the change that is coming with Trump and with someone like Paul Nehlen, that they’re not thinking straight right now,” Palin said.
