House Speaker Paul Ryan gave an interview today to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in Janesville Wisconsin. – AUDIO HERE – One of the interesting and revealing aspects was how Ryan framed the questioning of his visible/pubic opposition toward Donald Trump:

…”We have right now a disunified Republican Party. We shouldn’t sweep it under the rug without addressing it. That would be to our detriment in the fall”…

What’s interesting about that statement is the fact Mitt Romney had stronger opposition in early May 2012 than Donald Trump holds at the same point in the nomination process four years later.
Paul Ryan never spoke of “disunity” amid the party apparatus until 2016 and nominee Donald Trump.
Through May 5th 2012 Mitt Romney was opposed by 62.5% of the republican electorate with 37.5% support (Data Here). By comparison through the same period 2016 Trump was opposed by 59.8% with 40.2% support (Data Here).
When you add up Paul Ryan asking CNN’s Jake Tapper for the interview last week (where he publicly announced his concerns about Donald Trump), together with several statements today in retreat, what you begin to see is Ryan was setting up the framework of opposition – then encountered a backlash he did not expect.
A person might argue this is a representative example of the DC beltway being isolated within a bubble fraught with echo-chambering politispeak.  Indeed, that is indeed entirely possible. However, what’s also possible is that Ryan was doing the bidding of the Wall Street party apparatus who stand in direct financial opposition to Trump and they were testing the electoral temperature.
It cannot be overemphasized how the DC legislative priorities are established by the financial funds driven by Wall Street through K-Street lobbyists to individual politicians. The same donor class who funds Ryan’s Wisconsin best friend, Reince Preibus.
The tone of Ryan’s voice gives some subtle clues he was not personally anticipating anything near the backlash of the past five days.
It’s well worth listening to the interview (and reading the article). Listen HERE