During Wednesday's edition of Anderson Cooper 360, the Democrats on the panel took a few shots at departing House Speaker Paul Ryan as well as President Trump. CNN political commentator Symone Sanders referred to Ryan as a "coward" while her fellow panelist Maria Cardona described President Trump as "insane."
Shock waves erupted among talking heads on all the cable networks after Ryan announced that he would not run for re-election to the seat he has held for the past eighteen years. The panel on AC 360 speculated as to why he decided to step down. Ryan has stressed that his desire to spend more time with his family served as the primary motivating factor in his decision to call it quits, adding that he “doesn’t want to be just a weekend dad.”
During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Speaker Ryan admitted that he and President Trump “definitely have different styles” but maintained that “we have a common agenda that we agree on and we want to get it done and we know it’s going to make a big difference in people’s lives.”
As panelist Jackie Kucinich tried to argue that Ryan had a negative relationship with President Trump that caused him to step down, Alice Stewart, who once worked for Ted Cruz, reminded her that Speaker Ryan accepted the position reluctantly in the first place. Congressman Ryan first became House Speaker in the fall of 2015 following an abrupt resignation from his predecessor, John Boehner. Stewart added that the Speaker has “checked his three main priorities politically,” passing tax reform, reducing federal regulations and raising a lot of money.
Symone Sanders, who worked on Bernie Sanders’ (no relation) Presidential campaign, argued that something else can explain Ryan’s departure: “He knows a blue wave is coming. And Paul Ryan was a coward and got out of the way.” She continue her tirade against Ryan, saying “He could either...take his family, his kids, himself through a very tumultuous midterm election” or “he could bow out gracefully.” She concluded “I think he chose the latter because that was the easier path.”
Nearly five minutes into the segment, the final panelist, Maria Cardona, finally weighed in. While she agreed that Ryan “is a committed family man and father,” she said that “I almost guarantee you that if this President was sane, normal, and that you could count on him to make, you know, good, again, in any other era, normal decisions, even as a Republican, and I’m saying this is a Democrat, I can almost guarantee you that he would not be retiring.”
Not surprisingly, panelist Steve Cortes, who worked on the Trump campaign, had a problem with Cardona’s characterization of the President, asking her “are you on the record saying the President’s insane then?” She answered with a resounding “yes” until host Anderson Cooper jumped in and asked “You don’t really believe he’s...” Cardona then seemed to push back, saying “No.” Cortes then asked her again “is he insane?” and she deflected with a variety of responses as Cortes continued to press her: “I don’t think he’s got the temperament to be President,” “I have never thought...he has had the fitness for office. I think he’s unqualified. I don’t think he’s knowledgeable,” “I don’t think he cares about knowing anything about governing.” The back and forth wrapped up when Cortes told her “You twice said he’s insane and now you won’t say that.” Cardona replied: “You take how you will.”
As the segment drew to a close, Sanders still felt quite confident about a blue wave, referring to Paul Ryan as “the writing on the wall for Republicans.” One thing is for sure: a brand new speaker will take the gavel at the start of the 116th Congress. Should the new speaker have an R next to their name, the media and the left will surely do everything in their power to smear him or her, just like they did with Paul Ryan and continue to do with President Trump.
A transcript is below. Click "expand" to read more.
Anderson Cooper 360
04/11/18
09:40 PM
ANDERSON COOPER: House Speaker Paul Ryan announced today that he’s retiring from Congress at the end of his term this coming January. Speaker Ryan says he doesn’t want to be just a weekend dad. And in an interview with Jake Tapper, he said he has no plans to run for office again, any office, at least not while his kids are growing up. Jake asked what Ryan thought about the speculation on Capitol Hill that the decision also had something to do with the President’s temperament and character. Here’s what he said.
SPEAKER PAUL RYAN: We’re very different people. I’m from the Upper Midwest, I’m not from New York. We’re from a different generation. So we definitely have different styles but what we learned after we got to know each other because we didn’t know each other at all in the campaign and yeah, we had a pretty, we had a lot of friction in our relationship. What we learned is we have a common agenda that we agree on and we want to get it done and we know it’s going to make a big difference in people’s lives. And that’s what we are elected to do.
COOPER: Back now with the panel. Jackie, do you think he’s telling the truth here?
JACKIE KUCINICH: I think he is telling the truth about wanting to be with his family. I've interviewed Paul Ryan several times over the course of my career. And almost every time he would say, talk about how much he missed his kids, how much he missed his family. And he did lose his own father when he was a teen. And that looms large in his life. That said, I do think, you heard that patient tone to his voice. I do think he did have a lot of trouble coping with this President. He would frequently get up on the podium and say, I haven't seen the tweet. The tweet speaks for itself, which is code for, I don't want to talk about this. Also, though, you can't, you can’t disregard his conference, how difficult it was to maintain, to try to lead a group of people that doesn't really want to be led. And sometimes doesn't want to pass stuff. And sometimes doesn't want to go along with what he and other leadership wanted. They just want to fight. So I think there were several moving parts to this. But you can't, you can't have out the President.
ALICE STEWART: I think a lot of people are trying to read more into it than this. I truly believe that the Speaker, you know, we all recall, he came into this reluctantly.
COOPER: He was very reluctant.
STEWART: From the very beginning he said, look, you know, I've got kids, I want to spend time with my kids and he reluctantly took the position, but he, he embraced it. He's gone out and raised $115 million for the Republican Party. And look, his goals, professionally, was to pass historic tax reform, to rein in federal regulations and to raise a lot of money. So he's checked his three main priorities politically, now it's time to focus on...
SYMONE SANDERS: Look, Paul Ryan's shining accomplishment as Speaker is passing tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations, which he said there's lasting implications. Yes, lasting for Exxon. Not lasting for -- you know, Sally, Sue, Tommy, and Joe, who live in those Midwest states that he likes to talk to about. And his other shining accomplishment is defending Donald Trump at every single turn, maybe vaguely, but doing so. So I think it took a toll on him. He knows a blue wave is coming. And Paul Ryan was a coward and got out of the way.
COOPER: You think that’s, that he knew, that he believed a blue wave is coming?
SANDERS: I think that's what it is. I mean, look, Paul Ryan was faced with a decision. He could either suffer his...take his family, his kids, himself through a very tumultuous midterm election, one where his seat could even be in jeopardy, because Randy Bryce was definitely gaining ground that hashtag, the iron stash as everyone talks about. And lose and face a devastating loss or he could bow out gracefully. He could try to spin it and say, that, you know, we passed these tax cuts, we got done what we said we wanted to “get done,” which is absolutely not true. And I'm going out on top. I think he chose the latter because that was the easier path.
COOPER: Steve, do you think he's jumping ship before Democrats come in?
STEVE CORTES: You know, again, as I’ve said many times, I think, I think November is going to be very, very tough for the Republicans. And I think perhaps, Symone, I think you thought I was going to defend Speaker Ryan. Far from it, okay? I think that he and his ilk are part of the problem. And I'm not sad, quite frankly, to see him go. I'm very happy that he got tax cuts done. Wonderful. But we talked about the "Access Hollywood" tape earlier. He was one of the first Republicans to jump ship when things really got hard in October of 2016. And I for one won't forget that, as somebody from the campaign. That was a searing mark against him.
SANDERS: Praise the Lord for common decency.
CORTES: So now he's good?
SANDERS: In that moment, in that moment yes...
COOPER: All right, one at a time. Maria?
MARIA CARDONA: So, I agree, I believe that he is a committed family man and father. I think all of that rings true. But I almost guarantee you that if this President was sane, normal, and that you could count on him to make, you know, good, again, in any other era, normal decisions, even as a Republican, and I'm saying this as a Democrat, I can almost guarantee you that he would not be retiring.
CORTES: All right, Maria, are you on record saying the President’s insane then?
CARDONA: Yes.
CORTES: He’s insane? Okay.
CARDONA: Yes.
CORTES: Okay. I want to put that on the record.
COOPER: You don't really believe he's...
CARDONA: No.
CORTES: She just said it. That's why.
COOPER: I'm asking.
CORTES: She said it twice.
COOPER: I know, I know.
CARDONA: I don't think that he is fit for office. I don’t think that he...
CORTES: Is he insane?
CARDONA: I don't think he's got the temperament to be President.
CORTES: You said it twice. Is he insane?
CARDONA: I don't think that he is normal in terms of his reaction. That goes to his immaturity emotionally.
CORTES: Is he insane?
CARDONA: I have never thought he has, he has had the fitness for office. I think he's unqualified. I don't think he's knowledgeable.
CORTES: Is he insane?
CARDONA: I don't think he cares about knowing anything about governing.
CORTES: You twice said he’s insane and now you won't say that.
CARDONA: You take how you will.
KUCINICH: I just want to...I wanted to add one thing to watch going forward, Speaker Ryan says he's going to stay speaker through the end, through November, until he's done with his term. Watch the Trump folks, because I think a lot of them are going to try to push him out earlier. You're already kind of seeing the drum beat on Fox News.
COOPER: Would you want to see him out, Steve?
KUCINICH: Do you want to see him out? Because right now there's going to be a leadership battle for six months.
CARDONA: Right.
KUCINICH: If Ryan does stay in.
SANDERS: For a position that might even not be available, though.
KUCINICH: So you're hearing...well, even for the top, to lead the party. And right now, you're hearing kind of from the Freedom Caucus, you're hearing some agitation to get him out.
CORTES: I think we need dramatically new leadership. I think that the bill the President signed, and by the way, I criticized the President when I think it's, it’s correct. And the bill he signed, the spending bill was outrageous. I put some blame at the President's feet. I put far more blame at the Speaker's feet. That should have never come out of the Congress. Given that, do we need new leadership on the Republican side in the Congress? Absolutely?
COOPER: All right, Alice?
STEWART: You're pushing Maria to say that again, but here's the thing, his temperament that I disagree with on many occasions and many do, is the same during the campaign as it is now. And the fact is he won and people voted for him anyway. And I disagree with his tone and demeanor but agree with his politics. I think the policies that he's putting forward are reflective of the Republican Party. But we have to understand...
CARDONA: You do? You think they're reflective of the Republican Party?
STEWART: Yes. And I think the fact that his temperament hasn't changed and he was elected anyway, I think we just need to...
CARDONA: I think that’s a different place, though. I really don't.
COOPER: I've got to take a break. But Symone, very quickly?
SANDERS: I just want to say, I mean, look, when it comes to November, regardless of what everyone is saying right now about all of the, his temperament and what not, when folks are out there in the states, polling is saying and what people are saying is they care about health care and the economy and these taxes. Republicans ran away, people ran away from the tax cut in Pennsylvania. Paul Ryan is the writing on the wall for Republicans.
