Former House Speaker Paul Ryan told the author of a new book retiring from Congress was his "escape hatch" from dealing with President Donald Trump and that his presidency is going downhill.

The Wisconsin Republican spoke with Tim Alberta for "American Carnage," which debuts July 16. The Washington Post obtained a copy and published quotes from several current and former officials in Washington, including Ryan — who retired at the end of last year.

"We've gotten so numbed by it all," Ryan said. "Not in government, but where we live our lives, we have a responsibility to try and rebuild. Don't call a woman a 'horse face.' Don't cheat on your wife. Don't cheat on anything. Be a good person. Set a good example."

Ryan told Alberta that Trump knew nothing about how government works when he became president in 2017.

"I told myself I gotta have a relationship with this guy to help him get his mind right," Ryan said. "Because, I'm telling you, he didn't know anything about government … I wanted to scold him all the time."

Ryan, who first took office in 1999 and served until January 3 of this year after he decided not to run for reelection, said he and others in Trump's inner circle tried to prevent him from "making bad decisions."

"All the time," he said. "We helped him make much better decisions, which were contrary to kind of what his knee-jerk reaction was. Now I think he's making some of these knee-jerk reactions."

Alberta also wrote that Trump sees Ryan as a "f—ing Boy Scout."