Ryan rejects nomination speculation: ‘I’m not that person’

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in an interview on Monday rejected any interest in seeking the GOP presidential nomination.

“I do believe people put my name in this thing, and I say, ‘Get my name out of that,’” he said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” “If you want to be president, you should go run for president. And that’s just the way I see it.

{mosads}“I’m not that person. I’d like to think my face is somewhat fresh, but I’m not for this conversation. I think you need to run for president if you’re going to run for president, and I’m not running for president. Period, end of story.”

Ryan also voiced uncertainty over the Republican National Convention in July, arguing it might have different rules than the 2012 version.

“I don’t know, that’s not my decision,” he said of Rule 40(b), which requires candidates to have the backing of at least eight state delegations.

“That is going to be up to the delegates,” Ryan added. “I’m going to be an honest broker and make sure that the convention follows the rules as the delegates make the rules.

“It should not be our decision as leaders. It is the delegates’ decision. So I’m not going to comment on what these rules look like or not.”

Ryan first rose to national prominence as 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s running mate.