Speaker of the House Paul Ryan doesn’t get defended much on liberal MSNBC. But host Lawrence O’Donnell did just that during live Super Tuesday coverage. After Donald Trump threatened Paul Ryan, O’Donnell called on Trump to “check the Constitution,” telling the businessman he would “discover the Speaker of the House is far more powerful than the president on all matters of domestic governing.”
On Tuesday, Trump lashed out at Ryan after the Speaker of the House chided him for not quickly condemning the KKK. The front-runner threatened, “He's going to have to pay a big price.” O’Donnell retorted, “Tell that to Richard Nixon, who got driven out of office by a Speaker of the House. Tell that to Bill Clinton, who got impeached by a Speaker of the House.”
A transcript of the comments can be found below:
Place for Politics
3/1/16
10:32LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: He did convince the establishment Republicans tonight that a Trump presidency would instantaneously be a reign of madness in Washington. He threatened the Speaker of the House, who if he, or anyone supporting him would ever check the Constitution, will discover the Speaker of the House is far more powerful than the president on all matters of domestic governing. All matters. The Speaker of the House controls taxation. The Constitution says tax bills must originate in the House. That puts Paul Ryan in complete control of anything, anything legislatively that Donald Trump wants to do.
He threatened Ryan tonight saying, “If he doesn't get along with me, he's going to have to pay a big price.” Tell that to Richard Nixon, who got driven out of office by a Speaker of the House. Tell that to Bill Clinton, who got impeached by a Speaker of the House. Speakers of the House have proved over and over again their — Paul Ryan is proving now, he has more powers than the President does than all issues of domestic governance.
