Asked about grim GOP race, Ryan talks policy, not candidates
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a less than rousing defense of his party's two leading presidential contenders, House Speaker Paul Ryan urged a young Republican seeking solace Wednesday about the GOP race to focus on ideas instead of the candidates.
"Look at the policies, not the person," Ryan, R-Wis., said during a 70-minute session with students at Georgetown University's ornate Gaston Hall.
Ryan's meeting with students, in which he described his conservative philosophy and answered over a dozen questions, came the day after decisive primary victories in five East Coast states gave front-runner Donald Trump a commanding lead in the race to sew up the GOP nomination.
One junior told Ryan that he is a Republican but has been "dismayed" by the election.
"Why is that?" Ryan jumped in, drawing laughter.
The student said he was not backing Trump or his top challenger, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. He asked Ryan for "advice or reasons for optimism" for young Republicans finding it hard to back either candidate.
"Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've had this question," Ryan said, again prompting laughs.
Saying he is "very neutral" in the race, Ryan described proposals on economic growth, taxes, poverty and other issues that House Republicans will unveil early this summer, before the party's national convention in Cleveland. He also suggested studying the policy platform the party will craft at that July gathering.
"Republicans lose personality contests anyway. We always do. We've learned that lesson the hard way," Ryan said, without specifying to whom he was referring. "But we win ideas contests."
Ryan, his party's 2012 vice presidential nominee, has insisted he is not available to become presidential candidate this year, despite calls by some Republicans to find an alternative to Trump and Cruz.
The speaker also voiced support for a decision by House Republicans last week to defuse a contentious fight by plans to replace displays of the Confederate battle flag at the U.S. Capitol with state coins instead.
"This symbol does insult," Ryan said of the Confederate flag that has been part of some Southern states' flags. "This symbol I think does more to divide this country than to unify this country."
He said that while he backs letting states make some decisions, "If in the Capitol we're going to have symbols, we're going to have symbols that unify people, that don't divide people. And that's just the way we think," drawing sustained applause.