J. Scott Applewhite/AP
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio defends the work of the GOP during a brief news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 31, 2014
- Former House Speaker John Boehner, a Michigan Republican, took a few jabs and made a few jokes about President Donald Trump and his party on Thursday.
- Boehner, who has repeatedly criticized Republicans since he retired from
politics in 2015, said the GOP is "taking a nap somewhere" while Trump runs the party. - He also took a jab at the president's marriage, joking that first lady Melania Trump isn't pleased to be living in the White House.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former House Speaker John Boehner says there is no Republican Party anymore - but there is the party of President Donald Trump.
Boehner was asked about the GOP on Thursday at a policy conference in Michigan, where he sipped a Bloody Mary on stage. He replied: "There is no Republican Party. There's a Trump Party."
He added, "The Republican Party is kind of taking a nap somewhere."
The former speaker is friendly with the president - the two have played a lot of golf together - and used to count Trump as a supporter. But Boehner says he didn't expect him to become president.
"When I was having a rough week, Trump would call me, pat me on the back, cheer me up, played a lot of golf together. But president? Really? I never quite saw this," he said to laughs from the audience. "But, you know, the guy ran and the guy won."
He also used the opportunity to take a jab at the president's marriage, joking that first lady Melania Trump wasn't pleased that her husband won the election.
"I think Donald Trump promised Melania that he would not win," he said. "She didn't have to worry about ever living in the White House. It's probably why she doesn't look real happy every day. Well, maybe one reason."
The Ohio Republican comes from the establishment wing of the GOP. He abruptly retired from the House in 2015 amid resistance from a conservative flank of House Republicans who challenged his leadership as speaker.