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| CNN | - |
Washington
(CNN) House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday tried to end speculation that
he may be a late entrant into the Republican presidential race.
Paul Ryan on 2016 bid: 'Count me out'
Story highlights
- "Let me be clear: I do not want, nor will I accept the nomination for our party," Ryan said
- Ryan aides believe even a late entry would not have been feasible
Washington (CNN)House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday tried to end speculation that he may be a late entrant into the Republican presidential race.
"Let
me be clear: I do not want, nor will I accept the nomination for our
party," Ryan said in remarks from the Republican National Committee's
headquarters in Washington.
Ryan,
addressing Republican presidential delegates, added: "I believe you
should only choose from a person who has actually participated in the
primary. Count me out."
Ryan dismissed comparisons
between speculation that he would accept the speakership -- which he
repeatedly denied before taking the position last fall -- and his
refusal on Tuesday to be considered for the GOP's nomination at the
Republican convention in July. He suggested convention delegates should
adopt a rule only allowing a candidate who has run to be the party's
presidential nominee.
Asked by CNN
if he believes only one of the final three 2016 Republican candidates --
Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich -- should
be the nominee, Ryan would only say, "I'll leave that up to the
delegates."
"We should be selecting among people who actually ran for the job," Ryan added.
Major distraction
The
move comes as the chatter over a possible Ryan bid at a deadlocked
convention is becoming a major distraction for the speaker. But Ryan
aides believe even a late entry would not have been feasible and would
have divided the party even further.
Ryan
continues to stress that his main priority is developing an agenda for
the eventual nominee to adopt, to show what Republicans would do to
replace Obamacare, reform the tax code, address poverty and boost job
creation.
Even before Ryan planned
to address the issue on Tuesday, conservatives were warning that any
move to install him as the party's standard-bearer at the Republican
convention in Cleveland would backfire.
"The one thing that
would completely destroy the party is coming out (of Cleveland) with
Paul Ryan as the nominee," Republican South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney
told CNN on Monday.
Another
conservative told CNN he opposed Ryan -- or any other individual who
hasn't been campaigning -- from getting the party's nomination.
"To
parachute someone in who hasn't run for the office, who hasn't done the
grueling work of campaigning -- if you want to do something that
heightens cynicism to all-time high, that would do it," Virginia Rep.
Dave Brat told CNN on Monday.
Several
House Republicans told CNN that Ryan has been clear with them that he
has been trying to tamp down the speculation and he doesn't want to run
for president. They say he made a conscious decision when he decided to
run for speaker last fall that he was removing himself from a White
House bid.
Mulvaney said his concerns had
nothing to do with Ryan personally, but because Republican activists
would feel "something was taken from them unfairly and they would stay
home." He predicted 60% of the voters in his district wouldn't vote in
November if the convention handed the nomination to the House speaker.
"I
think it's simply nonsense that someone outside of the three people
running for this nomination are going to be nominated at this
convention," Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner told CNN's John Berman on "At
This Hour." "It's just nonsense. One of the three will be our nominee,
and I know there are some people who think there is going to be this
through-the-looking-glass-moment for Paul Ryan or perhaps others, but
it's simply not going to happen."
Democratic
National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz also commented
on Ryan's announcement, which she said is no surprise given the
contentious GOP nomination fight.
"I'm not at all surprised he doesn't want to step in the way of this trainwreck," Wasserman Schultz said.
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