Donald Trump tweeted positively about Speaker Paul Ryan's primary challenger. | Getty Trump gives shout-out to Ryan's GOP challenger

Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday night to thank Speaker Paul Ryan’s primary election opponent, Paul Nehlen, for sticking up for Trump in his feud with a Muslim couple whose son died on active duty in Iraq.

"Thanks to @pnehlen for your kind words, very much appreciated," the Republican nominee wrote.


Earlier in the day, Nehlen, a vocal fan of Trump, sided repeatedly with the GOP nominee in his ongoing dispute with the Khan family, who lost their son, Capt. Humayun Khan, in the Iraq War. Khizr Khan delivered a 7-minute takedown of Trump at the Democratic National Convention last week over his call to temporarily ban Muslims from immigrating to the United States.

"Paul Ryan AGAIN Misrepresents Trump Position, This Time on 'Religious Test' Brouhaha," Nehlen, who is running against Ryan in an August 9 primary, wrote in one tweet. Nehlen also linked to a Breitbart story calling Ryan a “double agent” who works also for Hillary Clinton because he countered Trump on the Khan issue.

And the challenger wrote a blog post on his campaign website accusing Khizr Khan of “ignor[ing] recent history and reality in convention attack on Donald Trump.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Khan chose to politicize the death of their son when they appeared on-stage in support of Hillary Clinton at the Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia,” the post reads. “Indeed, in his remarks Mr. Khan attacked, ridiculed and attempted to humiliate Mr. Trump and his positions on critical national security issues.”

The blog post’s main picture show three women with all but their eyes covered in black burqas.

Trump's praise for Nehlen could escalate tensions between the GOP nominee and the most powerful Republican officeholder in the country, who already have an arms-length relationship. Ryan is expected to easily dispatch Nehlen in next week's primary, but the challenger is running an aggressive, antagonistic campaign, and has disparaged Ryan at every turn for distancing himself from Trump.

Trump came under heavy fire after he responded to Khan by suggesting that the mother of the deceased soldier was forbidden from speaking about her son at the convention because she was Muslim. Khizr Khan spoke while his wife stood by his side quietly.

The family said she was doing her best to keep her composure, and Trump's comments enraged Democrats and Republicans, who called them inappropriate and offensive — an attack on a family that made the ultimate sacrifice for the country.

Ryan put out a statement rejecting the idea of a religious test for immigrants and calling Capt. Humayun Khan a hero. Though he didn't mention Trump by name, the speaker's intention was clear.

Zack Roday, a spokesman for Ryan's political operation, said in response to Trump's tweet that "rather than engage in a back-and-forth, the Speaker is going to remain focused entirely on ensuring we deliver strong Republican majorities this fall."

