Mary Spicuzza

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

House Speaker Paul Ryan supports Donald Trump presently, but he said endorsements aren't "blank checks."

Ryan, in a radio interview with Wisconsin's The Jerry Bader Show on Thursday, said that Trump has "had some pretty strange run since the convention."

"You’d think we ought to be focusing on Hillary Clinton on all of her deficiencies, she is such a weak candidate that one would think that we would be on offense. It is distressing that’s not what we’re talking about these days," Ryan said.

Ryan's comments come in the wake of 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.

Ryan said Trump's comments were "beyond the pale," insisting that Gold Star families needed to be respected. When pressed by Bader 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."

But, he added, Trump won the primary with voters "fair and square."

The Trump-Khan feud: How we got here

Ryan was also asked Thursday about Trump's refusal to endorse Ryan in his Tuesday primary. Ryan insisted that he has never asked for Trump's endorsement, adding that the only endorsement he's concerned about it 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 Thursday that Ryan is "running against somebody who's not going to win."

Manafort on Trump: 'He’s going to support Paul Ryan'

Trump praised Ryan's opponent, Paul 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.

On Thursday, Ryan 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.

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."

Contributing: Eliza Collins