GREEN BAY, Wis.—Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump officially endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville Friday at a rally in Green Bay.
After months of heavy contention between Trump and Ryan, the move suggests efforts to bring the party together.
“As a unifying party we will lead our country to unity as well,” Trump said. “In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan. He’s a good man. We may disagree on a couple of things, but mostly we agree.”
The week leading Trump’s Green Bay rally was particularly divisive among Republicans.
On Tuesday, the presidential nominee told the Washington Post he was not ready to back Ryan—the GOP’s highest-ranking member—for reelection in next week’s Congressional primary. He went on to express praise for race opponent Paul Nehlen, who has called Ryan a “soulless globalist.”
Ryan denounced Trump last week after his attack on the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq in 2004. Ryan did not officially disavow the nominee but did condemn his comments to the Gold Star family, reminding that endorsements are not a “blank check.”
Other top Wisconsin Republicans, including Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson also criticized Trump for his treatment of the Khan family.
Both declined to attend, as did Ryan.
Trump also endorsed two more members of Congress he previously refused to back, Sen. John McCain,R-Ariz, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte,R-N.H.
