President Donald Trump must define his 2020 re-election campaign through policy proposals because he could lose to a Democrat if he relies on his personality alone, former House Speaker Paul Ryan warned during a lecture in Florida Monday.
“The person who defines that race is going to win the race," Ryan told an audience in Vero Beach, reports local publication TC Palm. "If this is about Donald Trump and his personality, he isn’t going to win it."
Ryan was House Speaker from 2015 through early January when Democrats took majority control of the house. He opted not to seek re-election, but while in office clashed often with Trump on issues such as Russia and immigration, notes The Hill.
Trump also blamed Ryan for not getting funding for his border wall, complaining that he signed an omnibus bill he did not like after Paul had told him that Republicans would get him the money if he didn't veto the bill.
Ryan's speech in Florida centered more on policy successes and failures that occurred while he was in Congress, including telling the audience that one of the House's biggest mistakes under his leadership was taking too long to reach a plan for repealing and replacing Obamacare.
However, he touted successes on the response to the opioid crisis, criminal justice reform, the repeal of some small business regulations, and energy reforms.