Mary Spicuzza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

House Speaker Paul Ryan is still supporting Donald Trump but says endorsements aren't "blank checks."

Ryan also said Thursday in a radio interview on the Jerry Bader Show that Trump has had a "pretty strange run" since the Republican National Convention, and called Trump's attacks on the Muslim family of a fallen U.S. soldier "beyond the pale."

Ryan's comments come amid Trump's ongoing feud with the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, following their appearance at the Democratic National Convention.

Meanwhile, Ryan's primary challenger Paul Nehlen went further than Trump, calling for a discussion about whether the United States should deport all Muslims — an idea that drew swift rebukes from other Republicans.

Polls suggest Paul Ryan insulated from Donald Trump

Ryan said Thursday he was surprised that more of Trump's focus coming out of the GOP convention hasn't been on his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

"We just came out of our convention, and yeah he had a pretty strange run since the convention. You would think we ought to be focusing on Hillary Clinton and all of her deficiencies," Ryan said. "She is such a weak candidate that one would think we would be on offense against Hillary Clinton. It is distressing that this is not what we're talking about these days."

But the Janesville Republican defended his decision to endorse Trump while continuing to criticize some of his comments.

"We are a party where the grassroots Republican primary voter selects our nominee and that's as it should be and that is what it is. I think there's something to be said about respecting those voters," Ryan said. "But if I see and hear things that I think are wrong, I'm not going to sit by and say nothing because I think I have a duty as a Republican leader to defend Republican principles and our party's brand if I think they're being distorted."

When pressed by Bader about whether Trump's comments would ever go too far and force Ryan to pull his endorsement, the Wisconsin Republican said "none of these things are ever blank checks."

Ryan was also asked Thursday about Trump's refusal to endorse him in his Tuesday primary. Ryan insisted that he has never asked for Trump's endorsement, saying the only endorsement he's concerned about is the voters of Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District.

“The only endorsements that I want are those of my own employers here in the first congressional district and that’s really what my focus is," Ryan said.

Also on Thursday, Donald Trump's top adviser acknowledged "conflict" within the campaign over the Republican presidential nominee's hesitation to endorse Ryan.

But Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort added in an interview that Ryan is "running against somebody who's not going to win."

"There's a conflict within the Trump campaign, and we've sort of had a rule of not getting involved in primaries because it's usually not a good situation for the presidential candidate," Manafort told George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "Of course he's going to work with Paul Ryan. Of course he's tried to bridge the party with Paul Ryan. But Ryan is also running against somebody who's not going to win, but nonetheless is a strong supporter of Mr. Trump's."

The Republican presidential nominee said Tuesday that he was “not quite there yet” in endorsing his party’s top-ranking elected official, and in the same interview spoke highly of Nehlen, Ryan’s opponent. 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.”

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

Ryan denies seeking Trump's endorsement.

On Thursday, the speaker accused Nehlen of running a campaign supported by out-of-state special interests and "scam-PACs."

Dan Backer, the campaign treasurer for Nehlen, also runs a number of far-right political action committees that attack GOP leaders while paying consulting fee's to Backer's firm. Backer is also the treasurer for a newly formed group called Tea Party Forward, which is raising money to help Nehlen defeat Ryan.

In an interview earlier this week, Nehlen said that the U.S. should discuss deporting all Muslims.

"I'm suggesting we have a discussion about it. That's for sure," Paul Nehlen said on 560 AM's "Morning Answer" in Chicago.

"Here's what we should be doing," Nehlen added. "We should be monitoring every mosque. We should be monitoring all social media."

His comments quickly drew harsh criticism from Wisconsin Republicans.

"He's a special kind of stupid. You can quote me on that," state Rep. Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) tweeted Thursday.

Ryan's campaign spokesman pointed to repeated comments the speaker has made condemning Trump's proposed Muslim ban.

Rep. Sean Duffy, a Trump supporter who spoke at the Republican convention, said the real estate mogul hesitating to endorse Ryan doesn't make sense.

"Paul Ryan is loved in our state because he's a conservative who has advocated for conservative policies. And Donald Trump coming out saying favorable things about Mr. Ryan's opponent doesn't add to the number of voters in Wisconsin that will support Donald Trump," Duffy told CNN in a Thursday interview. "Big mistake, Paul Ryan will win and we'll get beyond this after next Tuesday. But I don't think it's very smart on the front of Donald Trump."

When questioned about Trump's decision, Duffy said he couldn't explain it. "It doesn't make sense because this is a game of addition," he said. "We need to add people to the Republican party, those independents who can swing either way. And this is only detracting."