Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, gave the keynote speech at the Al Smith Dinner. The Al Smith dinner is a fundraiser for Catholic charities which is attended by wealthy and powerful people. The keynote speaker usually makes jokes about themselves and others; however, this year seems to be much more personal, like last year where Hillary and Trump roasted each other. Ryan made jokes that sounded more like his own feelings, than mere satire. He went after Trump by masking his criticism as a joke, but it seems as though he was expressing his personal feelings about Trump.
Speaker Paul Ryan roasts President Trump at Al Smith dinner. Read more: https://t.co/C6yskrwuzU pic.twitter.com/erfbk1pJLY
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 20, 2017
Ryan unleashes on Trump
When Paul Ryan got up to give his speech at the dinner, the crowd was cheering as he walked up to the podium. Paul stated, in response to the cheering, “Enough with the applause, you sound like the cabinet when Donald Trump walks in the room.” This joke was directed at Trump’s cabinet, which is filled with people that must idolize Donald in order to gain favor or to preserve their jobs. There was a time where they all basically swore an oath of allegiance to him, by showering him with praise and reminding him how honored they were to work for him.
The truth is, the majority of his cabinet treat him like a dictator, a “Dear Leader,” who must be shamelessly supported irrespective of the damage inflicted on the common people. Ryan made that joke deliberately to remind the Cabinet that they are cowards.
Paul also joked about how many Wall Street and Liberal elites that are affiliated with the White House.
He said, “I don’t think I’ve seen this many New York Liberals, Wall Street CEOs, in one room, since my last visit to the White House.” It is evident that he was calling Donald Trump, an alleged Republican, a Liberal. This was a reminder to all those who said Trump was a New York Liberal, that he actually operates like a Liberal.
Basically what Ryan was saying is “he’s not one of us”.
He also took a jab at Trump’s intellect by saying, “a Hollywood Republican, that is an oxymoron. Which clearly was the word Rex Tillerson was searching for.” Rex Tillerson, Trump’s Secretary of State, called Donald Trump a “moron.” Ryan was calling Trump a contradiction and a moron in that joke.
He went on to point out that Trump isn’t growing as a President. That Trump does not learn from his mistakes. He said, “I know that last year Donald Trump offended some people. I know that his comments, according to critics, went too far. Some said it was unbecoming of a public figure and they said that his comments were offensive. [sighing] Well, thank God he’s learned his lesson.” Ryan was calling Trump offensive, said that he goes too far, and is unbecoming.
These are characteristics indicative of Trump, but not often expressed by a Republican. He made more jokes, about Trump, in that speech.
Listen below to the summary of Ryan's jokes about Donald.
Republicans are getting fed up
Paul Ryan got up in front of a Liberal audience and humiliated Trump. He’s not the first to come out and publicly condemn Trump. Rex allegedly called Trump a moron and hasn’t refuted claims that he said it. Bob Corker, a Republican Senator from Tennessee, called the White House an adult daycare center. He also accused Trump of “castrating” his Secretary of State and being unstable enough to cause a world war. John McCain, who has been very vocal in his opposition to Trump, has spoken out about the blatant chaos caused by his presidency.
George W. Bush, a Republican, the 43rd President of the United States, gave a speech condemning Donald’s style of politics, as well as the bigotry and racism blooming in the US.
Ryan was a constant defender and Trump apologist until yesterday. The fact that Paul felt comfortable publicly shaming Donald shows that something is boiling under the surface. A lot of Republicans are no longer willing to remain silent about the damage that Donald is doing to this country and to his presidency. It will be interesting to see if more and more Republicans start to revolt against Trump. However, it seems like Paul Ryan is simply fed up with Donald.