Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said he was so “disturbed” by the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that he “found himself sobbing” while watching the horrific events on television.
Ryan told journalist Mark Leibovich for his upcoming book “Thank You For Your Servitude” that he often did not cry but “something snapped in him” that day, CNN reported Monday.
The Wisconsin Republican, who spent 20 years representing District 1 in the US House of Representatives before retiring in 2019, lamented seeing his old friends being attacked by a mob of Trump supporters.
“I spent my whole adult life in that building,” Ryan said. “And I saw my friends, a lot of cops, some of my old security detail – I’m still friends with a bunch of those guys. It really disturbed me, foundationally.”
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Ryan publicly condemned GOP leaders in his state in 2021 after they pursued a $680,000 audit and investigation into the results of the 2020 election.
“It was not rigged. It was not stolen,” Ryan told Wisconsin’s ABC affiliate WISN 12 of the election. “Donald Trump lost the election. Joe Biden won the election. It’s really clear,”
While Speaker of the House, Ryan was critical of Donald Trump and other Republicans aligned with him.
In June, Ryan told an audience during a political event in South Carolina that Congressional Republicans “didn’t have the guts” to impeach Trump following the January 6 riot.
Trump fired back on his social media platform Truth Social, calling Ryan a “pathetic loser” and “weak RINO”.
