CNN: “Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is set to criticize former President Donald Trump and his hold on the Republican Party during a speech Thursday night, according to excerpts obtained by CNN. Ryan, a critic of the former President in the past, is expected to say at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, that Republicans must move away from the ‘populist appeal of one personality’ because ‘then we’re not going anywhere… Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads. And here’s one reality we have to face: If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle.'”

“Although Ryan doesn’t mention Trump by name in his criticism, the expected remarks by the Republican Party’s 2012 vice presidential nominee will add him to a growing list of establishment Republicans who are publicly objecting to Trump’s grip on the party. Like-minded Republicans, including Ryan’s predecessor, John Boehner, have lamented the current direction of the party, which has actively rebuked and ostracized members who have taken on Trump and his brand of populist and nativist politics. The excerpts indicate that Ryan plans to outline a path forward for the Republican Party in the Biden era. According to the excerpts, the only time Ryan will reference Trump by name is to praise him for how, at the start of 2020, the US ‘saw such incredibly powerful and inclusive economic growth,’ though he suggests more credit is due to Reagan-inspired policy rather than Trumpism.”