Former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) started researching how to interact with people with narcissistic personality disorder after President Trump’s win in 2016, a new book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa reportedly reveals.
Business Insider obtained a copy of their book, “Peril,” and reported that Ryan was caught off guard by Trump’s win against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. But, realizing that he was going to need to work with Trump and since the GOP control both the House and the Senate, Ryan started to research how to work with someone “amoral and transactional,” according to the book.
Ryan was also reportedly told by a wealthy doctor, a Republican donor, that he needed “to understand what narcissistic personality disorder is.” The doctor explained his “thoughts on how to best deal with a person with anti-social personality disorder” in an email, with links to articles and information about the disorder, according to the book.
“Ryan studied them for weeks, convinced Trump had the personality disorder,” Woodward and Costa write.
Trump and Ryan butted heads after Trump publicly defended the white supremacists who organized the deadly riot in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
“White supremacy is repulsive,” Ryan tweeted at the time. “This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.”
Woodward and Costa write that Trump later called Ryan, enraged over the statement. Trump reportedly yelled, “You’re not in the foxhole with me!”
“Are you finished?” Ryan shouted back, according to their book. “May I have some time to speak now? You’re the president of the United States. You have a moral leadership obligation to get this right and not declare there is a moral equivalency here.”
However, Trump dug his heels in and replied, “These people love me. These are my people. I can’t backstab the people who support me.”
Trump reportedly gave in after Ryan brought his attention to the white supremacists in the crowd.
“Well, yeah, there’s some bad people,” Trump said, according to the book. “I get that. I’m not for that. I’m against all that. But there’s some of those people who are for me. Some of them are good people.”
Trump and Ryan continued to butt heads throughout Ryan’s tenure as Speaker.
“Peril,” set to be released on Sept. 21, will detail the Ryan and Trump’s relationship, as well as the overall transition from Trump to President Biden.