U. S. Trump formally endorses Paul Ryan

• Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday night, ending a four-day standoff between the GOP’s most powerful men.

Trump, the U. S. Republican presidential nominee, also continued to unleash deeply personal insults against his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

“In one way, she’s a monster,” Trump said, speaking to supporters at a rally in Green Bay, Wis.

“In another way she’s a weak person. She’s actually not strong enough to be president.”

Trump also called Clinton “totally unhinged” and “unbalanced” and said she lacked the integrity to serve in the White House.

The comments came as top Republicans have been begging Trump to focus his attention on attacking Clinton instead of members of his own party.

In addition to formally endorsing Ryan, Trump on Friday also threw his support behind Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, with whom he has sparred.

“We have to unite,” Trump said.

“I support and endorse our Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan,” adding that while they “may disagree on a couple of things,” they agree on a lot as well.

The timing was unusual. The rally took a back seat opposite the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Brazil.

In an interview earlier this week, Trump said he was “not quite there yet” when it came to endorsing Ryan in his primary race. He also praised Ryan’s opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running “a very good campaign.”

Trump said that, as president, he would need a Republican Senate and House to accomplish all of the changes he wants to make.

“This campaign is not about me or any one candidate,” he said.

“We will have disagreements. But we will disagree as friends and never stop working together toward victory.”

Earlier Friday, Wisconsin’s best- known Republicans said they were too busy to attend his evening event.

Sen. Ron Johnson and Ryan cited scheduling conflicts, while Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said he’ ll attend an all- you- can- eat spaghetti dinner instead of appearing with his party’s standard bearer.

“Welcome to Wisconsin, Mr. Trump, but let’s get something straight,” Wisconsin’s Assembly Speaker Robin Vos wrote in an open letter to his GOP colleagues ahead of Trump’s arrival. “We are Ryan Republicans here in Wisconsin, not Trump Republicans.”

Trump’s gaffes have largely overshadowed Clinton’s vulnerabilities as the Democrats work to recover from a bruising primary election season.