Retiring Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) used House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) announcement that he will not run for reelection as an opportunity to comment on how difficult it is to be a Republican congressman during the Trump administration.
“I think there’s a lot of weariness and a lot of exhaustion; frankly, this will be a challenging year and I’ve said this many times that the litmus test for being Republican these days is not about any given set of ideals and principles, it’s about loyalty to a man and that’s challenging,” he said to CNN’s Manu Raju.
“If you’re a member of Congress, particularly in a swing or marginal district, and you go out there and put distance between yourself and the President, guess what? The loyalists to the President will say you’re betraying him,” he continued. “If you put distance from the President, those in the resistance movement will say you’re still a sycophant and it’s never enough. You’re really in a no-win position.”
Dent announced his retirement in September, later adding that President Donald Trump’s polarizing statements and the challenges his party will likely face in this year’s midterm elections contributed to his decision.
Watch part of the interview below:
