"there is an elephant in the room<u+2026> it is a troubling situation,<u+201d> ryan said. "but that is not what we are here to talk about today." | m. scott mahaskey/politico the speaker holds back at a campaign event even as dozens of others in his party disavow their nominee. by rachael bade and m. scott mahaskey 10/08/16 04:48 pm edt elkhorn, wis. <u+2014> paul ryan was once the top republican countering donald trump<u+2019>s controversial rhetoric. not anymore. the speaker of the house during a campaign event at the walworth county fairgrounds in his southeast wisconsin district did not call for trump to drop out <u+2014> even as dozens of his colleagues on capitol hill did so on saturday, with likely many more to come. story continued below in fact, ryan barely acknowledged trump's controversial comments that broke friday evening, in which the real estate tycoon suggested he could kiss and touch the genitals of women because he's a "star." "there is an elephant in the room<u+2026> it is a troubling situation,<u+201d> ryan told approximately 500 people atop a barricaded stage decorated with pumpkins and draped in american flags. "but that is not what we are here to talk about today." ryan, on the receiving end of scattered boos and catcalls during his brief speech, quickly moved on to promoting his "better way" policy agenda. "what about trump?" one person yelled at one point. trump had been slated to appear beside the speaker for a monumental show of unity between the two men who are so vastly different on style and substance. but trump was uninvited friday night, hours after footage of his lewd 2005 remarks was reported by the washington post. ryan's refusal to ask trump to relinquish his nomination came amid an avalanche of congressional republicans who withdrew their support for the nominee on saturday. some, including no. 3 senate republican john thune (r-s.d.), even called for bombastic real estate tycoon to step aside and allow his running mate mike pence to lead the ticket. ryan hasn<u+2019>t reached that point. in a friday evening statement he said he was <u+201c>sickened<u+201d> by trump<u+2019>s comments and encouraged him to apologize and take the matter seriously. ryan did not, however, say whether he personally still supports trump<u+2019>s candidacy. for months until now, ryan had been out from among republicans in trying to keep trump in check, calling his attack on a hispanic judge <u+201c>racist<u+201d> and disavowing white supremacist david duke after trump initially refused to. 2016 by katie glueck the stakes couldn<u+2019>t be higher for ryan, who just two weeks ago refused to rule out his own future white house bid. many have said ryan would be the top republican to rebuild the party after an increasingly likely trump defeat in november. in the crowd, a number of attendees wore trump hats and t-shirts; others waved signs reading <u+201c>hillary for prison<u+201d> and <u+201c>hillary is a criminal.<u+201d> while a few people wore paul ryan buttons, others arrived early to reserve a place to sit and express their outrage that ryan uninvited the gop nominee. <u+201c>i came to see trump, not paul ryan,<u+201d> one quipped. before the event started, whitefish bay, wisconsin native lupe king told politico that trump apologized and should be forgiven for his comments. <u+201c>anybody but hillary,<u+201d> she said, adding that she preferred the types of judges trump would appoint to the supreme court. about 30 minutes before ryan took the stage, a handful of attendees chanted, "we want trump!<u+201d> between other speakers. one older gentleman held up a trump-pence <u+201c>make america great again<u+201d> sign above his head for a full 15 minutes without resting his arms. m. scott mahaskey reported from wisconsin, and bade from new orleans. by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz by jack shafer
no call from ryan for trump to drop out - politico
rachael bade m. scott mahaskey jack shafer