Freedom Caucus member: If Ryan’s not for Trump, I’m not for Ryan

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) on Wednesday blasted Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for not fully backing GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“Given the stakes of this election, if Paul Ryan isn’t for Trump, then I’m not for Paul Ryan,” he tweeted.

Given the stakes of this election, if Paul Ryan isn’t for Trump, then I’m not for Paul Ryan.

— Jim Bridenstine (@RepJBridenstine) October 12, 2016

{mosads}Bridenstine is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative group that last year helped force the ouster of Ryan’s predecessor as Speaker, John Boehner.

Ryan slammed Trump following the release of a 2005 tape in which Trump makes lewd comments about women, saying he would no longer defend the GOP nominee.

Trump fired back at the Speaker on Tuesday, tweeting that Ryan is a “weak and ineffectual leader” and adding that the “shackles have been taken off me.”

He later doubled down on his criticism, going so far as to imply that Ryan may not be Speaker if he wins the White House.

“This happens all the time — if you sneeze he calls up and announces, isn’t that a terrible thing. So look, I don’t want his support, I don’t care about his support,” Trump said on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor.”

When asked if he thinks that some establishment Republicans will further support him as president, Trump expressed confidence while doubting Ryan’s future as the GOP Speaker.

“They’ll be there. I would think that Ryan maybe wouldn’t be there, maybe he’ll be in a different position,” Trump said.

– Updated at 11:44 a.m.