Paul Ryan, in his first trip abroad as House speaker, insisted that he would not eventually emerge as the Republican presidential nominee.
The Wisconsin lawmaker on Sunday spoke with the Times of Israel while in Jerusalem, as part of a congressional delegation trip. Ryan has been mentioned increasingly as a consensus nominee should the White House hopefuls, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, fall short of the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch their party’s nomination.
“I decided not to run for president,” Ryan said. “I think you should run, if you’re going to be president. I think you should start in Iowa and run to the tape.”
The Times of Israel reported that Ryan said there were “lots of reasons” he stayed out of the 2016 presidential race, including his “young family” and the heavy candidate field.
“We had 17 people running. We had a deep bench of qualified people. So I thought we had that fairly well taken care of,” Ryan said.
Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, also discussed the upcoming primary in his home state of Wisconsin — an increasingly crucial contest to win the nomination.
Ryan suggested a win by real estate mogul Donald Trump would set him up for the nomination. But if Texas Sen. Cruz comes out on top it would increase the odds of a contested convention, the Times of Israel reported.
Ryan is in Israel with a bipartisan delegation of House officials. It’s his first trip abroad since assuming the House speakership in October.
“I’m proud that my first trip as speaker is a return to Israel. At this critical moment, it is essential that we reaffirm the historic alliance between our two nations and work together to address the mutual security threats that we face,” Ryan said in a statement after he arrived.