Paul Ryan: Donald Trump Appeals to 'The Forgotten Man… A Person That Finally Feels Like They're Being Taken Seriously'

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan spoke about President Donald Trump's popularity on Sunday, telling broadcaster Judy Woodruff that the U.S. leader still appeals to "the forgotten man."

Discussing Trump's popularity among Republicans during a one-on-one interview with Woodruff in Aspen, Colorado on Sunday, Ryan said that many within the party are still "excited" about the way the U.S. leader is "not taking any crap," while "taking on political correctness."

"He's taking fights that a lot of people want to see fought," the former House speaker said. Ultimately, Trump appeals to "the forgotten man" Ryan said.

"The forgotten man that he speaks to is a person that finally feels like they're being taken seriously," he said. "They're being paid attention to and he's concerned about their issues. That is the guttural core of what I would call the party base right now, the Trump base.

"I cannot tell you how many times, just running around America, particularly in Wisconsin, where people who really didn't participate in politics much at all before said, 'that guy speaks to me, that guy actually is doing something that is making a difference in my life,'" Ryan said. "So, it's guttural."

A recent Gallup poll conducted between June 3-16 found Trump's latest job approval rating to be at 43 percent. Among Republicans, however, approval during that period was at 89 percent, while among Democrats it was at a meager 6 percent, and among Independents, 37 percent.

While Ryan said that Trump's Twitter habits might drive some "people nuts, what that base, Republican voters, see [is] this guy's not backing down and he's fighting for me."

Asked by Woodruff whether the president is also "setting a good example for children," Ryan chuckled, while the audience broke out into laughter and cheers.

The former House speaker stressed earlier in the interview that he believed it was "far more effective" for lawmakers to challenge Trump privately than enter into a "public spat" with the U.S. leader.

After being questioned on why more Republicans have not stood up to the president, Ryan noted how rocky his own relationship with Trump had been in 2016: "You remember he and I didn't have the best relationship since '16 during the campaign."

Ryan said, "what I learned was you're far more effective, far better keeping it private, you'll have far more success on things, keeping it private than having a public spat."

''Cause you go out and you just fight in public then you're not going to actually accomplish what you're trying to accomplish, which is to change policy or to get an acknowledgment that we should do something differently," he said.

"So, my practice evolved into, 'let's keep these things private and let's have vibrant, strong conversations.' He and I had plenty of arguments over the phone and in person over lots of issues and I found...when he didn't read about it in the paper the next day, I think he appreciated it and it was more successful."