Get my name out!!

Ryan on GOP nomination talk: ‘Get my name out of that’

By Nick Gass

House Speaker Paul Ryan pushed back forcefully Monday on the notion that he would be a unity pick for the Republican Party at its convention.

“People put my name in this thing, I said, ‘Get my name out of that,'" the Wisconsin Republican and Republican National Convention chairman told Hugh Hewitt on his radio program Monday, speaking from Israel, where he’s making his first trip abroad as speaker of the House. "This is — if you want to be president, you should go run for president. And that is the way I see it.”

The Times of Israel quoted Ryan making similar comments Sunday evening. "I decided not to run for president,” Ryan said, according to that report. “I think you should run if you’re going to be president. I think you should start in Iowa and run to the tape.”

“So you’re not the fresh face that Karl Rove was talking about?” Hewitt asked, referring to the veteran Republican operative's comments on the same program last Thursday.

“I’m not the fresh face. I’m not that person. I’d like to think my face is somewhat fresh," Ryan joked, adding seriously, "I’m not for this conversation. I think you need to run for president in order to be president. I’m not running for president, so, period. End of story.”

Asked whether the same 2012 convention rules should apply to the Cleveland gathering, specifically Rule 40(b), which specifies that candidates must have the support of at least eight state delegations, Ryan demurred.

“I don’t know," he said. "That’s not my decision. That is going to be up to the delegates. I am going to be just an honest broker and make sure that the convention follows the rules as the delegates make the rules. As you probably know, the Rules Committee meets the week before the convention. I believe it’s two delegates from each state and territory, about 112 people who will set the rules. And I’m not going to make an opinion or a judgment one way or the other because it’s their decision, the delegates’ decision, who are the grassroots of the party, by the way. It should not be our decision as leaders. It is the delegates’ decisions. So I’m not going to comment on what these rules look like or not."

Later on Monday morning, Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong put an exclamation point on her boss's remarks, tweeting, "Guys - 2016 has already been silly enough. This talk is dumb. Let's move on."