Former vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan says he would have backed Mitt Romney had his one-time ticketmate decided to run for president again in 2016.
The Wisconsin Republican, who is also the new House Ways and Means chairman, also said he’s staying neutral about Badger State Gov. Scott Walker’s possible bid for the White House.
“I was going to support Mitt, whatever it is he decided to do,” Ryan said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday. He answered host Chuck Todd’s question about whether he would have formally endorsed Romeny with an “oh, sure.”
“It’s no secret I think Mitt Romney would have been a fantastic president. It’s bittersweet to me, in that sense — but it’s a perfect-style Mitt Romney decision: country first. He did what he thought was right for the country. … He’s just a class act.”
But Ryan told Todd that, because Ryan has accepted a 2016 fundraising post within the Republican Party, Ryan will have to stay out of the fray as to whether he’d support Walker for the nomination that year — though he had good things to say about the governor.
“Scott Walker is a great governor, he’s a good friend of mine, a reform governor — he’s done amazing things,” Ryan said, adding that Walker was so good he was elected three times in four years, a joking reference to opponents’ failed attempt to recall Walker from his post.
Asked by Todd whether Ryan would again be willing to go through the brutal vetting process to be a running mate, the congressman said, “I haven’t given any thought to that.”
Todd pointed out that Ryan’s answer wasn’t a “no.” Ryan countered, “I haven’t been asked that before,” and said he wanted to focus on his new post as House Ways and Means chairman. “I don’t think it is worth discussing,” Ryan said.
