Trump jabs Tim Ryan after he dropped out of White House race
President Donald Trump on Friday ridiculed Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan after he exited the 2020 White House race, mocking the Democratic congressman’s unimpressive performance in primary polling and failure to participate in the party’s most recent televised debates.
“So Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio has finally dropped out of the race for President, registering ZERO in the polls & unable to even qualify for the debate stage,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“See Tim, it’s not so easy out there if you don’t know what you’re doing,” the president continued. “He wasn’t effective for USA workers, just talk!”
Ryan responded an hour later, tweeting a picture of the shuttered General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
“This is the view from where I live Mr. President. Empty parking lot,” he wrote. “Used to be thousands of jobs. All on your watch. You said not to sell our houses. Same with FoxComm, Carrier. You don’t care about us. Put your phone down & start doing some work for someone other than yourself.”
Ryan announced Thursday he would withdraw from the Democratic contest after failing to gain traction in the crowded field seeking to challenge Trump in next year’s general election.
Only 1 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters said they would be most likely to back Ryan as the party’s nominee, according to a CNN/SSRS survey released Wednesday. A Quinnipiac University poll published Thursday showed him with less than 1 percent support.
Ryan had last appeared alongside fellow candidates on the debate stage in July, and did not meet the necessary thresholds to take part in the September and October forums.
In an earlier post Friday morning, Trump also targeted former Democratic presidential contender Eric Swalwell, a California congressman who ended his campaign in July.
“Another big dropout of the Presidential race was, along with 0% Tim Ryan, 0% @RepSwalwell. Such talk and bravado from both, and nothing to show,” Trump tweeted. “They stood for nothing, and the voters couldn’t stand by them. Obnoxious and greedy politicians never make it in the end!”
Swalwell has remained a vocal critic of the president in his capacity as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, one of the three congressional panels leading House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
