Donald Trump said Friday it was time for Speaker John Boehner to go because he didn’t fight hard enough for conservative principles.
{mosads}Mobbed by reporters outside the main ballroom at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington ahead of his speech to the Values Voters Summit, the front-runner for the 2016 GOP nomination said Boehner’s announced resignation was “a good thing.”
“I think it’s time, it’s a good thing,” Trump said. “Someone else will come in and maybe they’ll have a tougher attitude.”
Asked by The Hill if Boehner fought sufficiently for conservative principles, Trump responded: “No, he didn’t. Not enough.”
“I don’t think he’s a conservative,” the celebrity real estate tycoon said of Boehner.
“I think it’s time for him [to move on] and the party and everybody,” Trump added.
Asked whether he had preference for Boehner’s replacement, Trump said he did not but that he believes there are some good contenders.
Boehner has become a punching bag for Republicans at the conservative Values Voters Summit. Many of the attendees learned of the news for the first time from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, another presidenital hopeful, who was one of the first speakers of the day. The ballroom erupted in a standing ovation at the announcement.
—Jonathan Swan contributed.