Donald Trump ‘Unshackled’: Nominee Lashes Out at GOP

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Donald Trump openly complained about Paul Ryan on Twitter Tuesday morning. (Getty)

Donald Trump was on his phone once again Tuesday morning, lashing out on Twitter at Paul Ryan, who told his House Republican colleagues that he will no longer campaign for the party’s presidential nominee. Trump said it “is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me.” It was all part of a tweet-storm that resembled Trump’s behavior during the primaries and continued into Wednesday morning with complaints about the media coverage of Wikileaks.

Trump started his rant at 8:16 a.m. ET, writing that it is “hard to do well when Paul Ryan and others give zero support.” He also claimed that he won the second debate and that “every poll” shows he won in a landslide. However, a CNN/ORC poll of viewers showed that 57 percent thought Hillary Clinton won, while 34 percent thought Trump won.

Trump then called Ryan a “very week and ineffective leader.”

At 10 a.m., Trump returned to Twitter, with his “shackles” remark.

He then blasted Republicans for not being as loyal to their candidate as the Democrats have been to theirs.

Then, Trump suggested that the Republicans who have un-endorsed him are “far more difficult than Crooked Hillary.”

At noon, Trump tweeted about Arizona Senator John McCain, calling him “foul mouthed.” Trump is probably referring to the fact that McCain landed on a CNN list of “foul-mouthed” politicians.

Trump’s Twitter rant followed a Politico report that Ryan might completely pull his endorsement for Trump before the election on November 8. Although Ryan told his colleagues that he would stop campaigning for Trump to focus on retaining the GOP’s majority in the House, he did not completely pull his support for Trump.

Trump capped off the day by releasing a new campaign commercial.

Trump’s Twitter comments on Tuesday were repeated during a San Antonio, Texas fundraiser Trump held later in the day, according to transcripts obtained by the Texas Tribune. “Sometimes it’s harder to beat our own party than it is to beat the person on the other side,” Trump told donors.

On Wednesday, Trump resumed his tweeting, complaining about what he perceived to be a lack of media coverage of Wikileaks and wondering why Hillary Clinton hasn’t done what she’s promised to do in the past 30 years.


Trump’s Tweets Were in Response to Ryan’s Decision to Stop Campaigning for Him

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Trump was supposed to attend Paul Ryan’s event in Wisconsin on October 8, but he pulled out. (Getty)

Ryan’s decision on Monday was surprising, as it came after Trump’s debate performance. Although Trump avoided making his situation worse, his performance failed to attract more independent voters to his cause after the damaging 2005 tape was released on Friday.

In the moments after Ryan’s decision was reported, Trump wrote that Ryan should “spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee.”

As more Republicans began pulling their support for Trump over the weekend, Trump declared on Twitter that their poll numbers will go down and called them “self-righteous hypocrites.”

Trump has started tweeting even more in recent days, despite the release of the tape. After recording a video apology for the tape – in which he described an attempt to have sex with the married Nancy O’Dell – Trump wrote, “Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!” He then insisted in all capital letters that he will not drop out of the race. During the debate, Trump stood by his claim that his comments on the 2005 tape was “locker room talk.”

Ryan’s statement on the 2005 Trump tape reads:

“I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests.”

Ryan then said that Trump would not attend an event in Wisconsin and would be replaced by Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence. However, Pence did not attend either.