Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” co-host Joe Kernen took a few jabs at former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), a staunch critic of President-elect Donald Trump before the 2024 presidential election.
However, as Kernen noted, Ryan has changed his tune on Trump.
Partial transcript as follows:
PAUL RYAN: I think they’re probably right. One big, beautiful bill, with immigration reform, border control, and tax cuts is probably the way to go.
JOE KERNEN: You know I love you, and I like to needle you,
RYAN: But.
KERNEN: But you know I love you.
RYAN: Comma.
KERNEN: Comma. So, now you’re calling for unity.
RYAN: I am calling for unity.
KERNEN: Well that’s nice.
RYAN: Yeah.
KERNEN: Would have been nice before the election.
RYAN: He won. Look, He won.
KERNEN: And the other thing I thought was funny that you said was when you said, “Hey look, I want Trump to succeed.” You know who that sounds like? It sounds like a Democrat. It sounds like a Democrat saying, you know what?
RYAN: Well, I hope the Democrats sound like that.
KERNEN: Well of course you want Trump to succeed. You’re a Republican.
RYAN: Look, I’m a conservative Republican. I’m a free market, limited government, constitutional.
KERNEN: No, but you know what I’m saying. That’s who I hear saying things.
RYAN: Yeah, but my brand of conservatism doesn’t always overlap with Trump’s populism.
KERNEN: I understand, I understand. But it was binary. But you know we argued about that. I know we argued.
RYAN: On and off the camera.
KERNEN: It was binary all along. It was always binary. And a vote not for Trump was a vote for Kamala Harris. Can you imagine? I know you want to give an answer to this.
RYAN: Here’s the point. A lot of this agenda, my kind of conservatism, Trump populism, it overlaps. We disagree on trade and things like that.
I’m not with trade fights on China, but I’m not a big fan of all the tariffs on our allies. But the point is, all this other stuff, the tax policy, the border policy, the deregulatory policy, very good for America, very good for the economy.
KERNEN: Don’t sacrifice the good for the perfect.
RYAN: It only gets done if Republicans stay unified. And I think it’s important that Republicans stay unified.
BECKY QUICK: Do you think they will stay unified?
RYAN: I do. I do. But it’s going to be a challenge.
I’ve watched Congress erupt into factions more often than not. And when Mike Johnson’s deal was such a razor-thin majority, you know, you have no margin. So that’s why Joe is giving me, he’s riding me here because I think it’s really important.
KERNEN: I wasn’t right. I just think it’s funny when you come on and say, “Hey, look, I want Trump to succeed. That sounds like what Democrats say.”
RYAN: The man won. Look, he probably won the biggest political comeback in history. I don’t know.
I’m not familiar with the Grover Cleveland race, but this is probably tops that one. And you can say, you know, people say 1 percent, but all seven swings say, you know, you don’t need any help, Andrew. Go ahead.
KERNEN: You know what I think. You know what I thought? I know.
RYAN: But now that we have an opportunity to pass what I think is a very good agenda, it’s extremely important that —
KERNEN: He doesn’t have to be reelected at this point. So it seems he seems a little bit different. He must be more palatable to you this time around.
RYAN: Yeah, and my hope is that by the end of his administration, he makes a good dent on entitlement reform.
(h/t RCP Video)
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