Paul Ryan: Obama's State of the Union 'degrades the presidency' [View all]

[Octafish]

WASHINGTON — In a scathing response to President Obama's State of the Union Address, House Speaker Paul Ryan told USA TODAY on Wednesday that the speech's political tone toward Donald Trump and the Republican presidential field "degrades the presidency."

Obama made comments unmistakably targeted at Trump, though he didn't mention the GOP front-runner by name in Tuesday's address. The president blasted as un-American and wrong-headed those who are "promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control."

Ryan said he agreed with Obama that Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslim immigrants from the United States was a bad idea. "Putting a religious test on anybody coming to this country is wrong," the Wisconsin Republican said. "We ought to have a security test, not a religious test. That's who we are.

"But I think it sort of degrades the presidency to then talk about primary politics in the other party, during primaries. That's not what presidents ought to be talking about in State of the Union addresses," Ryan added. "Speaking up for our values and speaking up for our beliefs is one thing. But kind of wading into the primary politics of the other party is just not really what presidents ought to do."

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/01/13/paul-ryan-obama-political-state-of-the-union-degrades-presidency/78747316/

Ryan's right: It says a lot about the negative quality of the Republican field if their mere mention degrades the nation. Going from what Ryan and his colleagues have done to destroy the United States of America, it must really take one to know one.