Fox News host promoted by Trump calls on Paul Ryan to step down

Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro, whose show President Trump urged his followers on Twitter to watch earlier in the day, opened her program on Saturday evening by calling on Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to step down.

“Ryan needs to step down as Speaker of the House. The reason: He failed to deliver the votes on his healthcare bill, the one trumpeted to repeal and replace ObamaCare,” Pirro said in her opening statement.

“You come in with all your swagger and experience and sell them a bill of goods which ends up a complete and total failure and you allow our president, in his first 100 days, to come out of the box like that, based on what?” Pirro said.

The Fox News host’s fiery comments about Ryan came hours after Trump tweeted to encourage his followers to watch “Justice with Judge Jeanine.”

Watch @JudgeJeanine on @FoxNews tonight at 9:00 P.M.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2017

{mosads}Trump has urged people to watch TV shows in the past, but typically when he is appearing on them.

“I have not spoken with the president about any of this,” Pirro said of her call for Ryan to step down on her show, where president’s counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka also appeared on Saturday evening.

Trump said he told Ryan on Friday to pull the GOP healthcare reform bill, the American Health Care Act, amid dwindling support among House Republicans.

The move marked Trump’s first legislative defeat as president and followed seven years of rhetoric from Republicans who campaigned on a pledge to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

Trump blamed Democrats for not backing the GOP healthcare bill and signaled that he would move on to other legislative priorities, such as tax reform.

Trump and White House press secretary Sean Spicer also indicated that they appreciated Ryan’s effort to get the bill passed, amid criticism from some Trump allies over the failed effort.

Pirro insisted in her first segment that the failure was on Ryan and not on Trump.

“Folks, I want to be clear. This is not on President Trump,” she said.

“No one expected a businessman to completely understand the nuances, the complicated ins and outs of Washington and its legislative process. How would he know on what individuals he could rely?”

“Ryan has hurt you going forward, and he’s got to go,” Pirro said.