Ryan Says ‘There Can Be No Moral Ambiguity’ In Tweet That Spares Trump

President Donald Trump applauds with House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., behind him in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in Washington. Trump is announcing the first U.S. assembly plant for electronics giant Foxconn in a project that's expected to result in billions of dollars in investment in the state and create thousands of jobs. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump applauds with House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., behind him in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in Washington. Trump is announcing the first U.S. assembly plant for ele... President Donald Trump applauds with House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., behind him in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in Washington. Trump is announcing the first U.S. assembly plant for electronics giant Foxconn in a project that's expected to result in billions of dollars in investment in the state and create thousands of jobs. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Tuesday said “there can be no moral ambiguity” about the repugnance of white supremacy in what appeared to be an ambiguous response to President Donald Trump’s off-the-rails press conference.

“We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for,” Ryan tweeted. “There can be no moral ambiguity.”

Ryan did not specify what prompted the statement, but his tweet came hours after Trump switched course and went back to blaming “both sides” for the violence that erupted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.

“Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists, by any stretch,” Trump said in a press conference at Trump Tower in New York. “You had a lot of bad people in the other group, too.”

His reversal was the second in two days. Trump on Monday read a curt statement condemning white supremacists and neo-Nazis after waiting two days to specifically denounce those hate groups (the President initially blamed “many sides” for the violence).

Trump backtracked on Tuesday, saying, “I think there’s blame on both sides.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. But, apparently, there can be moral cowardice

  2. Avatar for erik_t erik_t says:

    Mealy-mouthed chickenshit loser flaps gums, says nothing.

    Contemptible ass. What courageous “leadership”.

  3. You’ve already anchored yourself and your political party to this asshole, Paulie. Enjoy the hell-ride, bitchola!

  4. Avatar for kn11 kn11 says:

    So I’ve been wondering:

    Was there some kind of quid pro quo between DT and Ryan that, in the first case, caused Ryan to push through the Obamacare Repeal bill (and now to refrain from criticizing his response on Charlottesville) in exchange for bringing Foxconn to Ryan’s WI district?

  5. Tainted weasel. Bugger off back to Janesville won’t you please.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

31 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for robaruba Avatar for marby Avatar for vertone Avatar for sysprog Avatar for bojimbo26 Avatar for hychka Avatar for jurisgal Avatar for nymund Avatar for wagonmound Avatar for jinnj Avatar for clauscph Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for wintermoon Avatar for caltg Avatar for uneducated Avatar for not_so_fluffy Avatar for coimmigrant Avatar for corncaucus2008 Avatar for ncgirl741 Avatar for dcd Avatar for drwho Avatar for jstrummer Avatar for kn11

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: