At one time, Paul Ryan looked to have a big future as a Republican lawmaker. He was the Vice Presidential candidate in 2012 before becoming the Speaker of the House in 2015.
When Donald Trump came around, however, Ryan couldn't wait to get out of the House. He retired early in Trump's term and now serves on the board of multiple companies including Fox News. During a recent interview with Teneo, the former Wisconsin congressman blasted Donald Trump and praised Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.
Ryan told interviewer Kevin Kajirawa:
"Look, Trump’s not a conservative. He’s an authoritarian narcissist. So I think they basically called him out for that. He’s a populist, authoritarian narcissist. So historically speaking, all of his tendencies are basically where narcissism takes him, which is whatever makes him popular, makes him feel good at any given moment… He doesn’t think in classical liberal-conservative terms. He thinks in an authoritarian way. And he’s been able to get a big chunk of the Republican base to follow him because he’s the culture warrior."
When asked about Kinzinger and Cheney, he responded, "I think Adam and Liz are brushing their teeth, liking what they see. And I think a lot of people in Congress are good friends of mine who would take the vote back if they could, because I think a lot of these members of Congress, on the second impeachment, they thought Trump was dead. They thought after January 6th, he wasn’t going to have a comeback."