As we draw closer to the end of primary season, there has been a lot of speculation over who the Republican nominee will be. While Donald Trump holds a considerable lead over his fellow candidates, it's hard to say if he will attain the required 1,237 delegates before the convention in June. With such an important decision up in the air, Republicans have turned to looking for a white knight to swoop in and save their party.
The entire world can easily see the major chasm forming in the Republican party between the Trump supporters and basically everyone else. Such dissonance has led to some speculation over who is capable of salvaging the party and beating the Democrat nominee. Many fingers are pointing to Paul Ryan, however, despite such adamant support, Ryan came out this past Tuesday, April 12th, to make a statement against running for president.
Ryan's push against the idea has only sparked more speculation and theories about whether or not he's telling the truth.
No one can deny that the reputation of the Republican party is very important to Ryan. His attempts to thwart Trump's momentum are evidence of that. He recently came out with a parallel policy campaign called Confident America.
This new campaign is all about going big or going home. It's a "bold, pro-growth agenda" designed to install unity among Democrats and Republicans. On the other hand, many people are saying this video looks and sounds a lot like a presidential campaign message. It addresses many of the popular issues of this election season, it's set to a powerful and energized score (which sounds suspiciously similar to that of House of Cards), and it ends with the statement "Coming in 2016."
Some media platforms were suspicious of Ryan's speech on Tuesday, such as Law Newz, which had deception experts analyze it. They concluded that while he might be sincere in his stance against being the Republican nominee, he may in fact take it in the end. Their reasoning is of course based on the precedent set by his acceptance of the House Speaker position under similar circumstances.
The New Yorker also expressed doubt in Ryan's sincerity. They claim he is taking unnecessary measures to deny his interest in being the Republican nominee. They believe there hasn't been any real pressure put on Ryan to come forth and accept the responsibility and that holding a press conference is a tactic he is using to win the nomination in the end. Sounds very House of Cards, no?
I believe this is more of a media influenced opinion than anything else. At a time where the election is becoming mundane it is exciting to explore the options of a white knight coming to save the day. It becomes more about someone new for the media and its viewers to scrutinize rather than realistic expectations. I have to admit, it's more fun to toy with the idea than it is to watch the hundredth debate in which each candidate's answers are basically predictable.
Ryan's focus is most definitely concerned with bettering the Republican party. In October of last year, this meant taking over the position of House Speaker. Today, this means avoiding the presidential nomination. It appears Ryan has a good grasp on what his party needs and he will only put himself in a position if he feels it's what's best for everyone.
But it'd be kind of cool if it played out like House of Cards wouldn't it?
