President Donald Trump looks on during a campaign rally in Nevada. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan predicted Thursday that former President Trump will not be the Republican nominee in 2024 and that he only holds power within the Republican Party because “everybody’s afraid of him.”
Why it matters: Ryan's comments come as other potential Republican 2024 candidates wait to hear Trump's plans for the upcoming election and as GOP lawmakers have growing concerns about the eligibility of the former president.
What he said: Ryan said during an interview with the consulting firm Teneo that Trump still has sway within the GOP because “everybody’s afraid of him.”
- “He’s going to try to intimidate people out of the race as long as he can," Ryan said.
- Ryan questioned Trump's electability for 2024, saying the former president is "much more likely to lose the White House than anybody else running for president on our side of the aisle."
- “Whether he runs or not, I don’t really know if it matters,” Ryan said. “He’s not going to be the nominee, I don’t think.”
Context: Trump and Ryan had a turbulent relationship, dating back to the 2016 election campaign.
The big picture: Republican lawmakers have been reviewing potential new 2024 candidates amid concerns about Trump as a nominee after the Jan. 6 hearings, CNN reports.
- The former president has also faced a number of legal troubles since he left office.
- The majority of Republican voters still support Trump, though, Axios' Ivana Saric writes.
What we're watching: Potential 2024 Republican nominees have held off from announcing their own bids until they know Trump's plans for 2024.
- Former adviser Kellyanne Conway told CBS News in October that the former president "would like to" announce he's running for president after the midterm elections, likely sometime before Thanksgiving.
Of note: Utah Sen. Mitt Romney — who had Ryan as his running mate in the 2012 presidential election —told Politico earlier this year that Trump would likely be the 2024 nominee.
Go deeper: Trump's 2024 triumph