Former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan is expected to criticize former President Donald Trump in a speech at the Ronald Reagan library Thursday evening.
Ryan is expected to slam Trump’s influence on the Republican Party and advise conservatives to embrace “independence and mettle” rather than the former president’s “populist appeal,” in a speech at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, according to excerpts obtained by CNN.
“Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads. And here’s one reality we have to face: If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle,” Ryan will say, according to CNN.
It really is amazing that Paul Ryan, who is the reason the GOP lost the House in 2018, is going to come out today and blame Trump for the problems in the GOP.
Paul, the problem is you and your pal Liz.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) May 27, 2021
Ryan will also warn fellow Republicans about the cultural battle with Democrats, mentioning the left’s current embrace of ‘wokeness’. (RELATED: ‘Need To Stop’: Paul Ryan Says Trump Must Concede Election)
“As the left gets more ‘woke,’ the rest of America is getting weary. It’s exhausting. And we conservatives have to be careful not to get caught up in every little cultural battle,” he will say. “Sometimes these skirmishes are just creations or outrage peddlers, detached from reality and not worth anybody’s time. They draw attention away from the far more important case we must make to the American people.”
The former 2012 vice-presidential candidate will also criticize President Joe Biden’s support for far-left policies rather than upholding centrist values.
“In 2020, the country wanted a nice guy who would move to the center and depolarize our politics. Instead, we got a nice guy pursuing an agenda more leftist than any president in my lifetime. These policies might have the full approval of progressive supporters, but they break faith with middle-of-the-road folks who made the difference for him on Election Day,” Ryan is expected to say.
Ryan had criticized Trump after the 2020 election for refusing to concede and spoke at a fundraiser for Trump critic Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger.