John Boehner said at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference on Thursday that Donald Trump is the nominee "whether people like it or not." Boehner: 'Anyone who thinks Donald Trump can't win, just watch'

As his successor was trying to work through his disagreements with Donald Trump on Capitol Hill on Thursday, John Boehner was sounding off on the GOP's presumptive nominee from 2,400 miles away.

The former House speaker said at the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference on Thursday that Trump is the nominee "whether people like it or not," the AP reported.


"Anyone who thinks Donald Trump can't win, just watch," Boehner said at the Las Vegas gathering.

Current House Speaker Paul Ryan, Boehner explained, is "trying to help shape the direction of Trump's policies." And the retired Ohio lawmaker said he himself doesn't support Trump's policies on Muslims and trade deals, but suggested they weren't enough to break with the new face of the Republican Party.

Boehner did say he was thankful Ted Cruz didn't win the nomination.

"Thank God that guy from Texas didn’t win,” he said, according to The Wall Street Journal, noting that he drew criticism for giving the devil a "bad name" by referring to Cruz as "Lucifer in the flesh" last month. "I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life," Boehner had said at Stanford University.

Cruz, the leading Senate proponent of stripping the Affordable Care Act of funding, played a key role in pushing for the 2013 government shutdown — a move Boehner said led to perhaps the "dumbest" situation he's ever witnessed.

He also took a swipe at the House Freedom Caucus, whose conservative members led the effort to drive him from office:

At @SALT2016, @SpeakerBoehner calls House Freedom Caucus "knuckleheads ... to this day I don't know what they want." pic.twitter.com/oXZw0xWQ9w — Rick Newman (@rickjnewman) May 12, 2016





The caucus later responded on its official Twitter account:

.@johnboehner We want GOP to actually be party of ltd gov't, less spending; hold WH accountable for exec overreach. https://t.co/KPzwZKOZGK — House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) May 12, 2016





Overall, Boehner seemed pretty pleased to have left Congress. “Every day when I read the news I’m reminded of how happy I am that I’m not in the chaos,” he said.

