“What I do know for sure is if we disunify, then we hand the left the country by default for another four years,” Ryan said. | AP Photo Ryan: Trump's 'not my kind of conservative'

House Speaker Paul Ryan called on the Republican Party to unite behind Donald Trump on Monday, the opening day of the party's convention, while acknowledging that the presumptive nominee is "not my kind of conservative."

“What I do know for sure is if we disunify, then we hand the left the country by default for another four years,” Ryan said at a lunch hosted by The Wall Street Journal in Cleveland. “I just don’t want to be a party to that. I don’t want to be complicit to that.”


The selection of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as Trump's running mate is a "good signal-sender" that "helps tremendously" to unify the party, Ryan said.

Ryan's endorsement of Trump last month followed an awkward period in which the Wisconsin Republican appeared on CNN to declare that he was "just not ready," and he has not shied from denouncing the Manhattan businessman's language and proposals even since he declared his support. “There are things I take issue with that I want to make sure it’s clear why I do,” Ryan said, adding, “He does listen.”

On Monday, Ryan also disagreed with Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who earlier in the day said Ohio Gov. John Kasich is "embarrassing his state" by skipping the convention and called Kasich "petulant."

“I would never say something like that about John," Ryan remarked. "I like him a lot.”