House Speaker Paul Ryan decided to distance himself from Donald Trump after a tape containing sexually-agressive remarks from the Republican candidate was circulated. Nonetheless, he remains an endorser of Trump.
In his statement on Monday, Ryan told his fellow Republican congressmen that he would not defend Trump, but he's focused on maintaining GOP control of both houses of Congress, as reported by CNBC. He, however, did not pull out his endorsement of Trump, according to his spokeswoman AshLee Strong.
Ryan has also thrown in the towel as he signaled that the Republican Party might lose the presidential race. He suggested the GOP to focus to ensure Clinton doesn't get a blank check with a Democrat-controlled Congress.
Trump responded to Ryan's remark as reported by Fox News in his tweet saying, "Paul Ryan should spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee."
Since Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, Ryan showed reluctance to endorse him, citing he was not ready to support him. He has always been critical of Trump, but after he met Trump in May, a month later he announced his support for Trump.
Recently, Trump has been hit by his reckless comment in 2005 that appeared on a video circulated last week, which he bragged about groping women and using his celebrity status. According to Reuters, Trump's poll numbers dropped further, and Clinton is leading Trump in most national opinion polls.
Until now, almost half of 331 incumbent prominent Republicans in Senate, Congress and Governors condemned Trump's remarks. Some even went further and demanded that the former reality TV show host should step down from the party's candidacy.
However, the Republican National Committee reiterated its support for Trump, as the RNC chairman Reince Priebus spoke to the members that the party's leadership and fundraising arm still backs Trump, since replacing him with another candidate might lead to huge legal and logistical hurdles.
