Speaker Paul Ryan tells “Never Trump” Republicans to focus on the policies proposed by Republicans in Congress if they are discouraged by the choices left in the presidential field.
During Ryan’s town hall at Georgetown University this afternoon, one young Republican stood up to express his distaste for presidential frontrunner Donald Trump — insisting that he would never vote for the controversial New Yorker.
“I’ll never support Donald Trump and Ted Cruz does very little to appeal to me as a young voter,” he said, asking Ryan to offer him “optimism” as a young Republican.
Ryan advised the young man to focus on policy instead of personalities, citing his effort to promote an agenda in the House of Representatives.
“Look at the policies, not the person necessarily, because it’s the polices that matter so much,” he said.
He admitted that Republicans weren’t traditionally popular in America, but said he was comfortable with that.
“Republicans lose popularity contests anyway, we always do,” he said. “We’ve learned that lesson the hard way. But we win ideas contests.”
He cited economic growth, national security, entitlement, health and welfare reform as ideas that could put the country on a better track forward.
“I would just ask you to raise your gaze and look at the horizon that we are trying to paint,” he said.
Ryan also detailed his philosophy of returning power to Congress, instead of handing it to unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch of government.
“We need to restore the Constitution and Article 1 of the Constitution,” he said. “The laws that we live under should be written by we through our elected Representatives.”