Republicans’ white knight Ryan rules out late run for White House

PAUL Ryan, Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives and widely viewed as the last hope for the party establishment in 2016, unequivocally ruled himself out as a “white knight” candidate for president yesterday.

Power brokers intended to press Mr Ryan – Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012 – into nomination if the national convention in July is deadlocked between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

Mr Ryan has long said he would not seek the nomination, but had previously not ruled out an eleventh-hour intervention if the party turned to him.

An aide said he decided to do so yesterday, “to put this to rest once and for all”.

“We have too much work to do in the House to allow this speculation to swirl, or to have my motivations questioned,” Mr Ryan, 46, said in a speech at party headquarters. “So let me be clear. I do not want, nor will I accept the nomination for our party.” He urged delegates to the party’s convention to chose between those actually in the running.

Mr Ryan had fuelled speculation by often criticising the Republican race, advocating a “battle of ideas” rather than a clash of personalities. As the topranking Congressional Republican, Mr Ryan is likely have a leadership role at the convention in Cleveland and may work behind the scenes to break the Trump-Cruz stalemate.

If neither obtains a majority of primary election delegates, there will be a contested convention as the rivals scramble to collect the 1,237 delegates needed to win. If neither wins outright on the first ballot someone not previously a candidate could, hypothetically, be put forward. Mr Ryan was considered the most likely alternative.

Mark Zuckerburg opened an annual Facebook conference yesterday with a thinly disguised attack on Donald Trump, insisting that immigration was crucial to the US economy and criticising “fearful voices talking about building walls”.