Hannity: Paul Ryan will not be House speaker

A Donald Trump victory in the presidential election would be just the beginning of a massive upheaval in Washington, Fox News' Sean Hannity said Tuesday night, predicting that "Paul Ryan is not going to be the speaker of the House in January" if the Manhattan billionaire wins the White House.

Hannity, a vocal supporter of Trump's, said the real estate mogul's march through many of the early swing states indicated a disgust on the part of the American electorate with its government. And while Democrats bear a large responsibility in Hannity's estimation for turning its back on much of the country, he said both parties are culpable.


"They see Washington is broken. And Republicans are just as guilty. Paul Ryan is not going to be the speaker of the House in January," Hannity said during a phone interview on Fox late Tuesday. "I was going to save that for my program tomorrow. He's not going to be the speaker. I mean, an amazing turn of events because the establishment on both sides lost touch with the real lives of real Americans, and Donald Trump opened the door, said we're going to fix it and turn the table over."

Hannity walked back that assertion somewhat in a post to his Twitter account early Wednesday morning, writing that "assuming Trump wins, it's up to him and congress if Paul Ryan should be speaker. I am disappointed the speaker didn't show enough support."

Amanda Carpenter, a former communications director for Ted Cruz and a contributor to CNN, responded to Hannity's post with incredulity.

"Sean wants Trump's first act to be WAR? When does the unity start? I'll put down the sword if you guys will," she wrote in her own post to Twitter, linking back to Hannity's message.

Sean wants Trump's first act to be WAR? When does the unity start? I'll put down the sword if you guys will. https://t.co/QqLzyN05um — Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 9, 2016

Hannity said he had spoken to Trump three times during the evening but refused to offer much in describing the substance of those conversations. He said Trump has been "superstitious" as he watches the election returns.

"He's kind of been, you know just holding his breath like the rest of us and waiting and watching. And you know, I think he's very sober about it and I think, you know, he's a guy that loves a big challenge."