Mary Spicuzza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Donald Trump is refusing to back House Speaker Paul Ryan’s re-election bid, instead praising the political newcomer trying to unseat him.

The Republican presidential nominee said Tuesday that he is “not quite there yet” in endorsing his party’s top-ranking elected official, and in the same interview spoke highly of Ryan’s opponent, Paul Nehlen. Trump's comments came just one week before Wisconsin’s Aug. 9 primary.

Trump praised Nehlen for running “a very good campaign” in an interview with The Washington Post. He added that Ryan has sought his endorsement, but as of now he is only “giving it very serious consideration.”

“I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump told the Post. “We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.”

Zack Roday, a Ryan campaign spokesman, said, “Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump’s endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless.”

The real estate mogul’s comments echoed those made by Ryan in May, when he said “I’m just not there right now” in endorsing Trump.

EDITORIAL:Speaker Paul Ryan should disavow Donald Trump.

Trump’s refusal to endorse Ryan came one day after he gave a shoutout to Nehlen on Twitter, thanking him for his “kind words” amid criticism from Ryan and other Republican leaders over Trump’s comments about the Muslim parents of a U.S. soldier who was killed in action in Iraq.

“Thanks to @pnehlen for your kind words, very much appreciated,” Trump tweeted Monday.

Nehlen promptly tweeted a response, quoting Trump’s own campaign slogan.

“My pleasure, Sir,” he wrote. “Just want to Make America Great Again.”

A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Trump is officially supporting Nehlen, a Delavan businessman and first-time candidate.

When asked about the Twitter exchange, a Ryan spokesman said the Janesville Republican is focused on November.

“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,” Roday said.

Ryan will not be in attendance when Trump holds a rally planned for Friday in Green Bay because he already has a full schedule in southern Wisconsin that day, Roday said.

Nehlen campaign staffers did not respond to questions about whether he would attend Trump’s rally.

Trump became just the latest high-profile conservative to praise Nehlen, who is planning a rally of his own on Saturday with conservative political commentator Ann Coulter. The event aims to “rally the vote and term limit Paul Ryan.”

“Paul Ryan has had 18 years to prove he’ll vote the will of our district and he failed,” Nehlen said in the event announcement. “It’s time to bring real representation back to Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District.”

Nehlen has been running to the right of Ryan, targeting the speaker over issues like trade, Wall Street and immigration. A television ad released by Nehlen last week featured a mother whose son was killed by an immigrant living illegally in the United States.

Nehlen has tried to paint Ryan, who first took office in 1999 and was the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, as part of the D.C. elite who’s forgotten about his district back in Wisconsin. In his ads, Nehlen has portrayed himself as a tattooed, motorcycle-riding outsider standing up for Janesville and the rest of the district.

But fundraising records show that much of Nehlen’s financial support is coming from outside the state. Ryan, who’s also gotten most of his money from outside Wisconsin, has out-raised him by millions of dollars.

Ryan’s campaign reported raising about $5.5 million in the second quarter of the year, leaving him with $9.75 million cash on hand.

Nehlen raised only about $489,000 during that same period. That included about $173,500 in itemized contributions, of which just $6,490 — or about 4% — came from Wisconsinites. The rest of those itemized contributions were from out-of-state donors. And a large portion of Nehlen’s contributions have been unitemized, so it’s unclear whether they came from Wisconsinites or out-of-state donors.

Some of Nehlen’s out-of-state cash may be due to endorsements from nationally known figures like Coulter, conservative activist Michelle Malkin and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

It’s rare for one former vice presidential nominee to take on another from the same party, but several months ago Palin declared Ryan’s political career to be “over,” and vowed to help defeat him in the August primary. Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, announced in May that she would work to oust Ryan by backing Nehlen. She said the move came after Ryan initially refused to endorse Trump.

But polls don’t show Ryan’s political career is in immediate danger. Ryan has enjoyed high ratings among GOP voters this year, both statewide and in his congressional district, according to polling done by the Marquette University Law School.

Nehlen’s campaign treasurer is Dan Backer, a Virginia-based conservative strategist who has set up a variety of far-right political action committees, including a newly formed group named Tea Party Forward. That group has routed a number of contributions to Nehlen — although many are just $2.50 donations.

Some outlets have dubbed Backer’s groups “scam PACs” because his firms have received more than $1 million from these groups in the last few years.

Meanwhile, Team Ryan has raised nearly $37.9 million since Ryan became speaker, including some $15.6 million in the second fundraising quarter of 2016.

More than half of the cash Ryan for Congress has received for this election — $8.2 million — has come from Team Ryan.

Team Ryan reported transferring $11.3 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee during the second quarter, including $5.4 million in June alone. Since Ryan was elected speaker in October, his operation has transferred more than $25 million to the NRCC.

Ryan, 46, was born in Janesville and graduated from Joseph A. Craig High School. He then attended Miami University in Ohio, where he graduated in 1992.

Ryan became the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in January 2015, and previously served as chairman of the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015.