Story highlights "If you were planning on going to the convention, you should go," Ryan said

Many Republican lawmakers want nothing do with what could be a mess in Cleveland

Washington (CNN) House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday called on nervous Republicans to attend their party's convention in July, urging GOP lawmakers to stand united behind whomever delegates choose as their presidential nominee.

In an interview with CNN, Ryan downplayed concerns voiced by a growing number of GOP lawmakers who are eager to skip what could be a messy and controversial convention so they can instead worry about their own re-election fights back home.

"If you were planning on going to the convention, you should go," Ryan said in the Capitol. "It could be a great historical exercise. I mean, it could be something you'll remember the rest of your life, so I would go if I were, if I had a chance to go."

Asked about concerns from GOP lawmakers about being tied too closely to their nominee, Ryan said: "I think that we should go. This is our convention making our nominee, so I think everybody should participate."

The comments from Ryan -- who also serves as chairman of the Republican National Convention -- represent some of the strongest remarks he's made yet in calling for unity behind the GOP ticket. Yet he also rebuffed Donald Trump's criticism of the delegate selection process that the GOP front-runner has said is rigged.

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