Donald Trump humiliates Paul Ryan at rally while crowd boos house speaker
'Every day goes by, I get to appreciate his genius more and more. Now, if he ever goes against me I’m not going to say that'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It was vulnerable territory for Paul Ryan to be mocked, in his home state of Wisconsin. As the house speaker stood offstage, watching his former foe Donald Trump speak, the attention suddenly turned to him.
"Speaker Paul Ryan, I’ve really come to appreciate him," said Mr Trump, and the crowd burst into loud boos.
Mr Trump raised his hands. "Oh no, I’ve come to appreciate him."
Mr Trump turned to look for him offstage.
"Where is the house speaker? Where is he?" Mr Trump said, pointing to him.
"He’s terrific. Honestly, he’s like a fine wine. Every day goes by, I get to appreciate his genius more and more. Now, if he ever goes against me I’m not going to say that, ok?"
Mr Trump smiled widely, and listed off the issues he would work on in partnership with Mr Ryan. One voice called out from the crowd about the wall between the US-Mexico border.
"We’re going to work on the wall, Paul," Mr Trump said, nodding.
The house speaker had openly criticised Mr Trump until one month before the election, when a leaked video from 2005 showed the president-elect bragging about grabbing women’s genitals. Mr Ryan said he would not withdraw his endorsement of Mr Trump but could no longer "defend" him.
Mr Trump kept coming back to his former critic during his "thank you" speech.
"We’re going to win so much, you’re going to go to Paul Ryan, you’re going to go, ‘Mr Speaker, please, please, we can’t stand winning this much, we can’t take it," said Mr Trump. "And he’s going to come to see me and say, 'Mr President, the people of Wisconsin are tired of winning so much’."
Their relationship took a turn for the better once Mr Trump was elected.
Mr Ryan spoke briefly on the stage before the president-elect spoke to the crowd.
"Is this not so cool? Is this not incredible? It was before I had my driving licence that Wisconsin went Republican," he shouted over mixed cheers and boos from the crowd.
Mr Trump took the opportunity at his "thank you" tour to also call out Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s effort to recount the vote in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The recount in Wisconsin led to Mr Trump’s team gaining an extra 131 extra votes.
"She got less than 1 per cent [of the vote] but she thought she was going to catch us," he laughed.
He also polled the crowd as to whether they would prefer TIME Magazine having a "Man of the Year" or "Person of the Year" award. The crowd cheered loudly for the former.
"These guys are so politically correct," Mr Trump pointed to his allies offstage. "I’ll tell you what, I’ve done it three times and ‘Person of the Year' is not doing well."
The president-elect promised to "take a look" at people who burned the American flag.
He spoke of his recent appointments like General "Mad Dog" Mattis as defense secretary and secretary of state Rex Tillerson.
He assured the crowd that his cabinet had the "highest IQ ever".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments