Paul Ryan is looking to Trump for a "Better Way" rubber stamp.
I hate to over-simplify it, but that's the way I see it.
Ryan wants to gut Medicare and Social Security, end any other programs he sees as "entitlements," and push through tax cuts featuring 99% of the money gradually going to the 1% over a 10 year period.
I see Trump as a problem, and Ryan as a threat. Subtle difference there...I really do believe that Trump will use the Presidency as leverage for his businesses, and that Pence will run things. It was a promise made during the Primaries, and probably the only one he'll keep. Although, to be accurate, the Pence thing came from Trump Jr., who said that Pence would focus on "domestic and foreign" issues while Trump attended to "making America great again."
This SNL clip wasn't satire...it was prophecy. That's why Trump flew off the handle...it hit too close to home.
Trump is a useful prop...all of those people in the red hats love him, and will continue to love him, until the Republicans make good on the Ryan plan and they see that no jobs are coming back, Medicare is now a "voucher system" that doesn't cover their medical expenses, there's no wall between the US and Mexico, millions of immigrants weren't sent packing, there is no "Muslim Registry," on and on and on and on.
Remember the classic SNL skit with Dana Carvey as Poppy Bush? He is at a press conference and says "Operation Desert Storm" and gets a standing "O," and every time enthusiasm in the room drops, he says it again, but each time the roar of the crowd is a little less than the time before, until finally it's met with silence.
That will be Trump. "Make America great again" will lose steam right around the time Ryan has checked off all the little boxes on his wish list, the Bannon people realize that all of the people they thought Trump was going to sweep away with his big broom are still among us, and grandpa and grandma have to choose between food and medicine because their "Artist Formerly Known As Medicare" vouchers have already been spent and there are 20 days left in the month.
By then, the red hats will be pissing fire, and Pence / Ryan will throw Trump under the bus, and they will go back to their plans for Pence / Ryan 2020, with Ryan betting on two terms after that with his name at the top of the ticket.
Be vigilant when it comes to Trump, but don't take your eyes off of Ryan, because he's the real threat here. He's been smiling too much lately. He has a reason for that.
