House Speaker Paul Ryan has endorsed Donald Trump and encouraged Republicans to unify but clearly has his reservations. | Getty Ryan and Trump, Cleveland's arranged marriage This is clearly still a work in progress.

CLEVELAND — The morning after Donald Trump officially clinched the Republican nomination, Paul Ryan appeared before a roomful of GOP delegates from Mississippi.

“This is a person who eats, sleeps and breathes, conservative principles and constitutionality,” the House speaker gushed. “He is a godly man. He is a faithful man. He is a conservative… We are very happy with this decision — because we know we have an advocate for conservative reforms.”


Ryan (R-Wis.) wasn’t referring to Trump, though; he was talking about Mike Pence.

The praise for Pence, who the speaker will introduce Wednesday before his vice presidential acceptance speech, came after Ryan was asked by reporters earlier in the week whether he believed Trump was a bona fide conservative. To use a sports metaphor, as Ryan is apt to do, he fumbled, saying the GOP standard bearer is "not my kind of conservative.”

This was supposed to be the week the Republican establishment finally rallied behind Trump. But it's clear after three days that Ryan still has reservations.



The speaker, to be sure, has endorsed Trump and encouraged Republicans to unify. This week, he faithfully performed his official duties, announcing Trump as the nominee with some enthusiasm Tuesday night and energizing the convention arena with a prime-time speech that earned a standing ovation.

But he only named Trump twice in the address. And in about a dozen events around Cleveland this week, Ryan rarely mentioned the nominee by name — and sometimes not at all. The glowing praise for Pence did not extend to Trump.

“I think what Paul’s trying to do… is talk about what the team stands for,” said former Rep. Mark Green (R-Wis.), a longtime friend of Ryan’s. “And in an unusual election year and at an unusual convention, I think that’s the right answer. Paul is a happy warrior.”

To be fair, Ryan has always been an ideas guy, preferring to talk tax reform and trade over politics any day. And that’s what he’s been focused on all week, spending the majority of his time at off-site events promoting his six-plank House policy platform “A Better Way.”

Even so, it's clear that Ryan is keeping a healthy distance from Trump. One senior Republican quipped this week that his agenda was a “shield” to protect House Republicans from Trump’s unpredictable antics and unorthodox ideas.

On Tuesday, Ryan name-checked Mitt Romney during an event touting his national security plan, saying his 2012 running mate wanted a campaign of substance, and he was confident House Republicans had one. He did not mention Trump.

And during multiple speeches to delegates this week, Ryan only brought up the newly minted nominee in the context of noting how his election would improve the odds of enacting the House GOP agenda.

“If you want this to happen, if you want to get this country back on track, we have to make Donald Trump our president,” Ryan told the Mississippi delegates.

Ryan for months has been open about his differences with Trump on substance and style. And his hesitancy has been palpable here.

“Well, define ‘true conservative,’” he said early this week, when asked if Trump was one. “I mean, he’s not my kind of conservative, but I come from a different part of the wing of the party. I think he is a conservative, there are just different types of conservatives for darn sure.”

Ryan also acknowledged that he and Trump are simply “different people” and have a “frank” relationship. And when asked to explain Trump’s plans to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, bar Muslim immigrants, and rip up trade deals — policies Ryan wholeheartedly disagrees with — he just started laughing.

“We’re a big-tent party,” he said, opening his arms up as if he was holding a beach ball. “Real big… You know where I stand on these issues and where I differ.”

He even seemed to crack a joke at Trump’s pitch for a new border wall. Asked whether he’d appropriate money for it, Ryan quipped: “He’s going to go to Mexico, remember?” The room busted out in laughter.

Despite his discomfort, Ryan has been adamant, and seems to genuinely believe, that pulling the lever for anyone other than Trump will only pave Hillary Clinton's path to the White House.

At least once this week, the speaker found himself making the case for Trump behind closed doors — and in the presence of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has steered clear of the convention. Ryan told senior Republicans they need to support Trump because he will sign the House Republican agenda into law, according to sources in the room.

"Paul Ryan has made it very clear, again and again, that we all have a binary choice on Election Day," an aide to Ryan said in a statement. "In order to turn our country around, Republicans need to win a national majority in 2017. That means electing Donald Trump president and Mike Pence vice president."

On Tuesday night, during the official roll call of the states, Ryan was in the spotlight of Trump’s convention stage for the first time this week. He was poised, if not a bit reserved, and he raised his voice and paused for dramatic effect to announce Trump as the nominee. As the crowd went wild, pausing the program for several minutes, Ryan stood on stage with a half-smile.

