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In the upcoming N.Y. Times Magazine, Mark Leibovich notes that when House Speaker Paul Ryan announced in April that he wouldn't seek re-election, he was "ending a 20-year run in Congress that, for most of it, seemed to be on a straight-up trajectory."
What's happening: "Ryan should, by rights, be riding out of town at the pinnacle of his starlit Washington career. Yet he remains a distinctly awkward match to a moment — and president — that seem certain to define much of his legacy."
Leibo was there when Ryan got a call from President Trump. "The president saw me on 'Fox & Friends,'" Ryan said after stepping out. "He said he thought I looked good. ... That happens to me a lot,” Ryan added, referring to his post-TV attaboy.
- Ryan, seizing the opening, steered Trump to trade policy: "After a few minutes, the conversation concluded with Trump reiterating to Ryan that he 'looked good' on 'Fox & Friends.'"
Ryan to Leibo:
"I’m very comfortable with the decisions I’ve made ... I would make them again, do it again the same way ... I think some people would like me to start a civil war in our party and achieve nothing."