THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

And proceeds to shit all over our Constitution and support The Tangerine Shitgibbon in his illegal ban on Muslims coming into the country. Or at least only those Muslims who come from countries that don't do business with Trump Worldwide Inc.

Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday stood by President Trump’s executive order closing the nation’s borders to refugees and people from predominantly Muslim countries, ending days of public silence on the matter with only gentle criticism that “regrettably, the rollout was confusing.”

“We need to make sure that the vetting standards are up to snuff,” Mr. Ryan told reporters at the Capitol, saying he remained broadly supportive of the order and citing a “very good conversation” with John F. Kelly, the Homeland Security secretary.

“Now, I think it’s regrettable that there was some confusion on the rollout of this,” Mr. Ryan added. “No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this.”

The speaker’s cautious handling of this early flash point highlights the path he has chosen, at least so far, in the tumultuous age of Trump: For now, anyway, Mr. Ryan does not want to make enemies at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

For some allies and longtime admirers of Mr. Ryan, the episode has been difficult to stomach. They had watched the speaker position himself last year as the party’s conscience, consistently breaking with the Republican nominee. Since the election, dissent has been muted and relations have improved.

“It’s got to be just exquisitely painful for him,” said Charlie Sykes, a longtime conservative Wisconsin radio host and friend of Mr. Ryan’s. “It’s this ongoing calculation that you need to be allied in order to get your agenda put through. And yet the price tag keeps going up all the time.”

Despite the concerns raised by some prominent Republican voices, like Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mr. Ryan’s position appears to closely resemble that of most Republicans in the House, where Mr. Trump’s order seems to enjoy considerable support.

Several House Republicans, meeting before Mr. Ryan’s remarks, defended the order and the president’s behavior in recent days, shrugging off any turmoil that has resulted.

“I don’t sense any split in the Republicans ranks,” said Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, the chairman of the Whackdoodle Caucus.

It is obvious that Lyin' Ryan likes the taste of the boots he is licking and isn't about to let any bedrock principles get in his way. After all, being next in line for the Presidency after the VP doesn't look so bad when the current president shows obvious signs of mental illness.