Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he is willing to work with any moderate Republican but cautioned that “mainstream” GOP officials and Democrats need “to kill and confront” the MAGA movement.
Ryan has attempted to rebrand himself as a moderate Democrat in his Senate race against GOP candidate JD Vance, but critics say his language is evidence of his extremism.
“The Democrats aren’t right on everything,” Ryan said on Tuesday. “And I’m willing to sit down and have conversations about how we can move out of this age of stupidity and into an age of reconciliation and reform. How do we fix all of these broken systems? Some of those answers will come from Republicans, not the extremists that we are dealing with every single day. We’ve got to kill and confront that movement, but working with normal mainstream Republicans, I think that’s going to be really, really important because we have to reform these systems.”
In reaction to his comments, Vance’s deputy communications director William Martin, stated, “This guy is a left wing extremist who belongs nowhere near the Senate.”
Tim Ryan wants to “kill and confront” the MAGA movement #OHSen
This guy is a left wing extremist who belongs nowhere near the Senate. https://t.co/nlgR0H2SoZ
— William Martin (@wsmartin218) September 13, 2022
The Ohio congressman has attempted to distance himself from the president, even suggesting that Biden should not seek re-election in 2024. However, Ryan’s comments on Tuesday morning echo President Joe Biden’s stance on what he calls “MAGA Republicans.”
Ryan’s remarks come just weeks after Biden delivered a primetime speech in front of Independence Hall declaring that “MAGA Republicans” are a threat to the nation’s very foundation.
Last Thursday, the president also told the Democratic National Committee, “Extreme MAGA Republicans just don’t threaten our personal and economic rights, they embrace political violence.”
“They refuse to accept the will of the people,” Biden added. “They threaten our very democracy.”
Ryan’s authenticity has also been called into question in recent weeks after he flip-flopped on whether or not to ban gas vehicles.
While running for the presidency, Ryan said in 2019, “Senator Sanders and I got into this in the debate a little bit. He was like, banning gas cars in 2040. In my mind, in all honesty, it’s like okay great, whatever, but if we’re waiting for 2040 to get rid of gas vehicles, we’re doing something terribly wrong.”
Politico’s Natalie Allison tweeted, “Tim Ryan running for president in 2019 said Bernie Sanders’ plan to ban gas cars by 2040 wasn’t aggressive enough, @haleybemiller reports. His Senate campaign now ‘maintains that he doesn’t support gas vehicle bans.’”
Tim Ryan running for president in 2019 said Bernie Sanders’ plan to ban gas cars by 2040 wasn’t aggressive enough, @haleybemiller reports. His Senate campaign now “maintains that he doesn’t support gas vehicle bans.” https://t.co/sEySm7JhmN pic.twitter.com/6TgW1eCtlZ
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) September 7, 2022
In response, Vance remarked, “Tim Ryan’s plan to eliminate gas-powered vehicles is radically disconnected from the needs of everyday Ohioans, and is even more extreme than Bernie Sanders’ proposal.”
“This would impoverish thousands of workers in our state, but Tim Ryan is more focused on the fact that it would enrich his liberal donors,” Vance continued. “The working people of Ohio are going to reject his far-left climate insanity come November.”
Polls currently show that Vance and Ryan are neck and neck.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.