Former House Speaker Paul Ryan called a 'traitor' as he dubs Donald Trump 'authoritarian narcissist'

WASHINGTON, DC: Former House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly chastised Donald Trump on Wednesday, December 13, holding him accountable for the Republican Party's repeated electoral setbacks.

"Trump’s not a conservative. He’s a populist, authoritarian narcissist. So, historically speaking, all of his tendencies are basically where narcissism takes him, which is whatever makes him popular, make him feel good at any given moment," said Ryan at a virtual event hosted by Teneo, a management consulting company.

Paul Ryan says Donald Trump doesn’t think in 'classical liberal-conservative terms'

During his talk, Ryan continued, "He thinks in an authoritarian way, and he’s been able to get a big chunk of the Republican base to follow him because he’s the culture warrior."  

"Historically speaking, all of his tendencies are basically where narcissism takes him, which is whatever makes him popular, makes him feel good in any given moment," noted the former speaker. 

He further expressed, "He doesn’t think in classical liberal-conservative terms. He thinks in an authoritarian way and he’s been able to get a big chunk of the Republican base to follow him because he’s the culture warrior," as per The Hill. 

Trump has categorically been labeled as a losing hand for his party in elections past and future by the former House Speaker. 

Ryan, who was the speaker for two years of Trump's presidency and retired from Congress in April 2018, waited until he left office to begin criticizing him and has since explained this shift in direction by claiming that it was a sincere attempt to cooperate with the former president.

"We needed to make it work. That was my strong conviction. Did I think he was going to improve and grow in the job? Yeah. He didn’t. It was after I left when he went off the rails. He was getting rid of the people who were telling him what he needed to hear, not what he wanted to hear," the former speaker told The New York Times Magazine in March.

Republicans in Washington who have had sporadic encounters with Trump include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

3Though they have attempted, albeit in varying degrees, to conceal their dislike for Trump's demeanor, Ryan, McConnell, and other influential figures have supported him on significant political issues to secure a victory for conservatives.

Internet slams Paul Ryan for dubbing Donald Trump 'authoritarian narcissist'

Many Trump supporters took a jibe at Ryan for calling Donald Trump "authoritarian narcissist."

One wrote, "It’s painful to agree with former speaker and Rupert Murdoch shill Paul Ryan."

A person noted, "He is also a Demagogue which sews the seeds of hatred and this has the potential to lead to violent behavior which is outright dangerous," and someone else added, "Former. Also, a traitor. What's your point here?"

"We’ve been saying this for years. Yet when Paul Ryan had the chance to keep President Trump in line, he neglected to do just that. Paul Ryan represented what was wrong with Republican politics before 2016. Now that torch has been passed to Donald Trump," expressed an individual.