Paul Ryan: Donald Trump 'Not My Kind of Conservative,' But Republicans Must Support Him

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday called on his party to unite behind Donald Trump for the 2016 election, while distancing himself from the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's brand of politics — a delicate balance to strike as the Republican National Convention kicked off.

"He’s not my kind of conservative," the Wisconsin Republican told a group of reporters at a Wall Street Journal lunch in Cleveland, "but I come from a different part and wing of the party."

Ryan has criticized Trump throughout the election cycle, particularly on the candidate's proposed ban on Muslim immigration, his attacks on a Mexican-American judge and his use of imagery that many have called anti-Semitic. The House speaker endorsed Trump only last month.

Yet, Ryan said on Monday that while Trump isn't a "movement conservative," he shouldn't be disqualified as genuine conservative in the eyes of Republican voters.

"I think he is a conservative," Ryan said of the New York businessman. "There are different kinds of conservatives, that’s for darn sure."

"I think he is a conservative because of his experiences, but is he what we refer to as a movement conservative? ... No, because he didn’t come up that way," said Ryan.

Ryan also struck a pragmatic tone by saying if Republicans don't unite behind Trump, it keeps the White House under Democratic control.

"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, adding, "I just don’t want to be a party to that. I don’t want to be complicit to that."

He also appeared hopeful that Trump's decision to add Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to the ticket as his vice presidential running mate would "bridge the gap" among conservatives in the party.

"This choice of a running mate was good judgment," said Ryan.

Ryan also took issue 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 him "petulant."

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

Ryan will address the convention on Tuesday with a speech called "A Better Way," which will center on many points of the Republican platform.

"I want to talk about our ideas, our solutions and how our party should unite…Our agenda, our solutions and how we ought to unite around our common principles and how we apply those principles to problems," Ryan told Politico last week.

[Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons]