Former Speaker of the House John Boehner doesn’t think there is a Republican party anymore, at least not really.
“There is no Republican party. There’s a Trump party. The Republican Party is kinda taking a nap somewhere,” Boehner said at a policy conference Thursday.
The emergence of Trump as a political force, let alone a president, came just as much of a shock to Boehner as it did other Republican figureheads. (RELATED: Boehner: No Leader Of The Republican Party)
“Well, you know, Donald Trump, who I know well, was one of my supporters, when I was speaker,” Boehner said. “I was having a rough week, Trump would call me, pat me on the back, cheer me up, played a lot of golf together. But president? Really? I never quite saw this.”
Boehner made similar comments about the state of the Republican party in October 2017. (RELATED: Ryan Announce He Is Retiring)
“There is nobody” leading the Republican party, Boehner told Politico. “Donald Trump’s not a Republican. He’s not a Democrat. He’s a populist. He doesn’t have an ideological bone in his body.”
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan took over for Boehner, after he announced his retirement following members of the House Freedom Caucus threat to shut down the government over Planned Parenthood funding.
Ryan is also calling it quits, putting an end to a nearly 20 year career as a member of Congress.
“I wanted to share with you a little of what I just told my colleagues a few minutes ago. You realize something when you take this job, it’s a big job with a lot riding on you and you feel it. But you also note this this is a job that does not last forever. You realize that you hold the office for just a small part of our history, so you better make the most of it,” Ryan told reporters in April.
“That’s why today I’m announcing that they shall be my last one as a member of the House. To be clear i am not resigning. I think you full my serve — serve a full term as I was elected but it will be retiring in January leaving this matured into dance with what i believe is a very bright future.”
The speaker said he is retiring because he wants to spend more time with his children and be more active in family life.
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