House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that the 'bruising' Republican primary season has left his party in desperate need of unity, but welcomed Donald Trump as just another voice in a 'big tent party.'

The two men will meet Thursday in Washington, days after Trump said he doesn't need the entire GOP in lockstep behind him in order to beat Hillary Clinton in November.

'Does it have to be unified?' Trump asked Sunday on ABC's 'This Week' program. 'I'm very different than everybody else, perhaps, that's ever run for office. I actually don't think so.'

Ryan, though, is embracing the role of peacemaker in order to hold his coalition of moderates and tea partiers together in an atmosphere of distrust and acrimony.

'To pretend we're unified as a party after coming through a very bruising primary, which just ended like a week ago – if we pretend to be unified without unifying, we go into the fall at half-strength. This election's too important,' Ryan told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

TIME FOR PEACE? House Speaker Paul Ryan said ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump that the Republican Party needs to find a way to unify behind the billionaire

VICIOUS CYCLE: Trump beat 16 challengers in a 'bruising' primary, Ryan said, requiring 'a lot of work' to rebuild all the burned bridges left in the contest's wake

'We need a real unification of our party,' he said, 'which, you know – look, after a tough primary that's going to take some effort.'

Trump said Wednesday morning on the Fox News Channel's 'Fox and Friends' that he expects smooth sailing but is prepared to be disappointed.

'I think I'm doing very fine with Paul Ryan. I have a lot of respect for Paul Ryan,' he said.

'We're going to have a meeting tomorrow, we'll see what happens. If we make a deal, that will be great. And if we don't, we will trench forward like I've been doing and winning, you know, all the time.'

Ryan revealed Wednesday afternoon that he has only had two contacts with Trump in the past: a brief meeting in 2012 and a phone call two months ago.

But he remains confident that the Republican Party can absorb the billionaire's sometimes belligerent brand of populism that doesn't always agree with the congressional Republican conferences.

'This is a big tent party,' Ryan emphasized. 'There is plenty of room for different policy disputes in this party.'

'We come from different wings of the party. The goal here is to unify various wings of the party around common principles.'

WHO NEEDS IT? Trump said Sunday that if the GOP doesn't fall in line behind him, he can win anyway

That won't be easy, he predicted.

'We just finished one of the most grueling primaries in modern history,' Ryan reiterated. 'It's going to take some work, and that's the kind of work we're dedicated to doing.'

He also said confirmed that he has spoken with Ben Carson, now a Trump surrogate after failing to upend him in the primary season.

'Ben Carson's a great guy,' said Ryan. 'And Ben Carson is just trying to provide a constructive role to help.'

'He wants to be a force to help all the various wings of the Republican party, the conservative movement, to come together. He's trying to play a constructive role.'

Carson spoke on the phone with Ryan Tuesday night, hinting to The Washington Post afterward that he expects to see a Trump endorsement from the speaker at some point after the two strong-willed leaders sit down together..

Asked about the possibility that there won't be an endorsement in the works, Carson said: 'If that's his decision I'd respect that.'