Paul Ryan Defends Trump’s Taxes, Called Out for Supporting Scandal-Plagued Candidate
There are 35 days left to Election Day, but Paul Ryan is surely wishing that number was lower.
While each day seems worse for Paul Ryan than the last, yesterday was particularly brutal and exposed the utter shamelessness that “is Paul Ryan’s life now” because he supports multiple dangerous, unqualified candidates for elected office simply because there is an “R” following their name.
First, in Arizona, Massachusetts Representative Katherine Clark issued a public challenge to Ryan and NRCC Chairman Greg Walden to stop financially supporting Republican candidate Paul Babeu, who was the headmaster of a special needs school in Massachusetts that used systematic child abuse to discipline vulnerable children. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, Babeu continues to deny his involvement. Clark was in Arizona to address those claims, make it clear Babeu was involved, and call out Ryan for blindly supporting a candidate who oversaw child abuse.
Later, while stumping in Michigan, Ryan sat down for an interview with the Detroit Free Press where he was asked about recent reports that Trump used a nearly one billion dollar loss in the ‘90s to avoid paying taxes for decades after. Ryan, stooping to yet another low to defend his endorsement of Donald Trump for president, dismissed Trump’s tax dodging. “I don’t think it’s that harmful,” said Ryan, as if it’s no big deal that Trump dodged paying his fair share of taxes.
“Donald Trump’s candidacy has not only damaged the Republican brand generally, but also Paul Ryan’s credibility as he continues to stand by Trump. Donald Trump isn’t the only candidate utterly unfit for office that Ryan is throwing his support behind, and Ryan’s financial support for people like Paul Babeu underscores that for Ryan, the Republican Party is more important than country and people,” said Meredith Kelly of DCCC.