Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence answers a question at a campaign rally Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, in Phoenix. Pence: Trump 'strongly encouraged me to endorse Paul Ryan'

Donald Trump may not be ready to support House Speaker Paul Ryan’s reelection bid yet, but his running mate is.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence told Fox News in a phone interview that he “strongly” backs the House Republican leader, adding that the Republican presidential nominee himself encouraged Pence to support Ryan’s reelection on Wednesday morning.


“I strongly support Paul Ryan, strongly endorse his reelection,” Pence said, calling Ryan a “longtime friend” and “strong conservative leader.” “I believe we need Paul Ryan in leadership in the Congress of the United States to rebuild our military, to strengthen our economy and to ensure that we have the kind of leadership in this country that will make America great again.”

Asked to square that with Trump’s comments Tuesday declining to endorse Ryan in his primary next week, Pence said it was “not at all” a reflection of disunity.

“I talked to Donald Trump this morning about my support for Paul Ryan and our longtime friendship,” Pence said. “He strongly encouraged me to endorse Paul Ryan in next Tuesday’s primary and I’m pleased to do it.”

Trump rebuffed Ryan in a Tuesday interview with The Washington Post, using the speaker’s own months-old words against him as he declined to support his reelection bid.

“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.”

Ryan is expected to easily beat his primary challenger, Paul Nehlen, and Pence suggested “this is all part of a process” of uniting the GOP following a bitter primary and “an extraordinarily challenging time in the life of our country.”

“I mean, literally, 7½ years of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s policies have weakened America’s place in the world,” Pence said. “It’s stifled our nation’s economy, and Donald Trump has a vision to get this economy moving again, to rebuild our military, to stand with our allies and stand up to our enemies and ensuring that we bring everyone together on the team is gonna continue to be a work in progress but it’s all gonna come together.”

Trump and Ryan, Pence continued, are working to build their relationship. “And I’m very confident after Donald Trump’s elected president and Paul Ryan’s reelected to Congress and as speaker of the House, these two men are gonna do great things to restore this country at home and abroad,” he said.