Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has apparently run out of patience with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Ryan said on Monday that he will no longer defend Trump—instead, he's going to focus on Congressional campaigns that will help Republicans maintain their majority in Congress, according to The New York Times.
Other Republicans in Congress criticized the decision, accusing Ryan of giving up on winning the presidential election. But during the conference call in which Ryan announced his new policy regarding Trump, he emphasized that he was not rescinding his endorsement of his party’s nominee.
Ryan’s announcement is just the latest in a series of setbacks that Trump has experienced in the past few days. A video was released on Friday of Trump making horrific comments about touching women without their consent, and a poll released this weekend shows Trump falling further behind Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. A CNN poll concludes that Secretary Clinton won Sunday’s town hall debate, at which Trump continuously dodged questions about his treatment of women and whether or not he paid federal taxes.
The Trump campaign has tried to convince Republican leaders to continue supporting the nonminee. His campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said on “CBS This Morning” that she hoped Ryan “keeps his word” and continues his support for Trump, and made sure to note that Ryan had been booed by Trump fans over the weekend at a political event in his home state of Wisconsin after asking Trump not to attend.
Trump’s running mate, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana, denied rumors that he wanted to leave the Republican ticket. He's continued to campaign for Trump, telling voters in North Carolina that Trump was a "big man" for apologizing for his comments about women, according to the LA Times.
Of course, Trump himself was not happy when he found out about Ryan's statements. He directed one of his infamous tweetstorms at Ryan Tuesday morning, calling him "weak and ineffective," and saying "Disloyal R's are far more difficult than Crooked Hillary."