Is Paul Ryan running for president? 'Secret donor' meeting ignites new rumors

House Speaker Paul Ryan has been repeatedly denying that he's interested in running for president, but his actions still have many insiders spreading rumors that he's secretly considering it.

On Monday, the Observer reported Ryan will attend a "secret meeting" with "GOP money men" in New York City next week.

The meeting, which will reportedly take place at the Mandarin Hotel, "will be comprised of a discussion with 'twenty or so' Republican donors."

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None of those donors nor Ryan himself could be reached for comment before the Observer published this story -- and a disclosure at the bottom of the article acknowledges that the publisher of Observer Media is Donald Trump's son-in-law.

Still, as the GOP candidates continue to vie for delegates and votes, Ryan seems to be "running a parallel policy campaign" of sorts.

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Ryan recently sat down with Israel's prime minister and visited other Middle Eastern countries while his staff back at home released a 43-second video of Ryan's political efforts.

Others have pointed out that what he hasn't said may be just as noteworthy as what he has said, including New York Magazine:

In 1884, Republicans desperate to hold on to the White House turned to William Tecumseh Sherman, the heroic Civil War general. Sherman's reply — "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected" — has attained a fame nearly equal to that of his military feats, in part because historical memory has reworded it in more poetic form ("If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve"). If Paul Ryan does not want the Republican nomination, he will make what we call a "Shermanesque statement." Despite numerous opportunities, he has failed to do so. The most plausible explanation for this is that Ryan does, in fact, covet the nomination.

Ryan has a history of denying rumors with prior jobs as well. He spent a fair amount of time denying a nomination for the Speaker of the House before ultimately relenting and taking the job.

Asked about that in an interview with Politico, Ryan simply said, "It was a different situation."

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