Health Care

Ryan aides: President ‘clear’ his tweet had nothing to do with Ryan

President Trump reportedly spoke Sunday with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), one day after the president promoted a Fox News show that opened by calling for the Speaker to step down.

“The president was clear his tweet had nothing to do with the speaker,” Ryan aides told an NBC News reporter on Sunday afternoon. 

“They are both eager to get back to work on the agenda.”

{mosads}On Saturday morning, the president posted a tweet encouraging his followers to watch “Justice with Judge Jeanine.”

At the beginning of her show, host Judge Jeanine Pirro said Ryan needed to step down from his role as Speaker because he “failed to deliver the votes on his healthcare bill, one trumpeted to repeal and replace ObamaCare.”

“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 asked.

Pirro during the segment put blame on Ryan, specifically adding that Trump was not at fault.

“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.

The comments came after Ryan on Friday pulled the GOP ObamaCare replacement bill amid dwindling support among Republicans.
 
The move marked a major defeat for the president, who signaled he would move on to other legislative priorities, such as tax reform.

A few political reporters on Twitter noted that the White House would not say on the record what the tweet was about.