Trump said he’s “never been there” on backing McCain “because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets.” | Getty Trump declines to endorse Ryan or McCain 
 
 Donald Trump is “not quite there yet” when it comes to endorsing Paul Ryan, the Republican presidential nominee said Tuesday, echoing the House speaker’s rhetoric before he ultimately endorsed Trump as the GOP nominee earlier this year. 
 
 In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump refused to endorse Ryan, who faces a primary challenge against Paul Nehlen in Wisconsin next Tuesday, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who is squaring off against a tea party-backed doctor and former state senator, Kelli Ward. 
 
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 “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 snub of the Wisconsin Republican — he told the Post that Ryan sought his endorsement — comes a day after he thanked Nehlen via Twitter, blasting out the lesser-known candidate’s handle to his 10.5 million followers. 
 
 “Thanks to @pnehlen for your kind words, very much appreciated,” Trump tweeted Monday. 
 
 Ryan's campaign spokesman denied that the speaker solicited Trump's backing. 
 
 "Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless," the spokesman, Zack Roday, said. 
 
 Ryan is expected to trounce Nehlen in next Tuesday's primary. 
 
 In a statement blasted out by his campaign after Trump's comments were published, Nehlen accused the House speaker of "working against his party’s nominee and the American people" and said his "repeated betrayals of the GOP nominee is beneath the dignity of the speakers’ office and is morally disqualifying." 
 
 Ryan, who has been critical of Trump throughout his campaign, shied away from condemning him by name after he attacked a Gold Star family in response to remarks Khizr Khan made last week at the Democratic National Convention. Nehlen has sided with Trump -- linking Monday to a Breitbart story accusing Ryan of being a “double agent” for defending the Khans. 
 
 Trump's non-endorsement of the House speaker mimicked the language Ryan used when he declined to back Trump even after he had vanquished the last of his Republican rivals. “I’m not there right now,” the speaker told CNN in May. A month later, though, Ryan got on board. 
 
 Trump said he’s “never been there” on backing McCain “because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets.” 
 
 “So I’ve always had a difficult time with John for that reason, because our vets are not being treated properly,” Trump said. “They’re not being treated fairly.” 
 
 The real estate mogul also attacked Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who has also been critical of his remarks on the Khan family, for not supporting his campaign. 
 
 “I don’t know Kelly Ayotte. I know she’s given me no support — zero support — and yet I’m leading her in the polls,” Trump said. “I’m doing very well in New Hampshire. We need loyal people in this country. We need fighters in this country. We don’t need weak people. We have enough of them.” 
 
 Trump doubled down in an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday evening. 
 
 "I’ve never been a big fan of John McCain and I just hate the way our veterans have been treated by John and other people," Trump said. "I hate it. I look at our veterans, how badly they’ve been treated, the suicides, the tremendously bad treatment.” 
 
 As for Ayotte, Trump said, “If she’s not involved with me, I’m just not involved with that. I’m very involved with New Hampshire. I love New Hampshire. I’ve done a lot for New Hampshire. And New Hampshire frankly likes me. I have a nice lead in New Hampshire and she doesn’t." 
 
 Ayotte appeared to respond with this tweet, which did not mention Trump by name: "I call it like I see it and I'm always going to stand up for our military families and what's best for the people of New Hampshire." 
 
 Jake Sherman contributed. 
 
 Authors: ||||| The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post) 
 
 The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker explains how unusual it is that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is withholding his endorsements of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primary races. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post) 
 
 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his war with his own party’s leadership Tuesday by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul D. Ryan or Sen. John McCain, two of the GOP’s highest-ranking elected officials, in their primary campaigns. 
 
 Trump’s comments — an extraordinary breach of political decorum that underscores the party’s deep divisions — came as President Obama delivered his sternest rebuke yet of the celebrity mogul candidate. Obama declared Trump “unfit to serve as president” and “woefully unprepared to do this job,” and he challenged Republican leaders to withdraw their support of their nominee. 
 
 Obama punctuated his remarks, delivered at a Tuesday morning news conference, by explaining that he had never before felt compelled to so thoroughly denounce a political opponent. While he recalled disagreeing with McCain and Mitt Romney on policy issues in the 2008 and 2012 campaigns, Obama said that he never questioned their qualifications or their “basic decency,” and that he knew they would “abide by certain norms and rules and common sense. But that’s not the situation here.” 
 
 [Obama: Trump is ‘unfit to serve as president’] 
 
 In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump said he was not backing Ryan in his primary election next Tuesday in Wisconsin, or McCain in his Arizona primary later this month. Both have endorsed Trump but have criticized some of his policies and statements, most recently his belittling of the parents of dead U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan. 
 
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 Trump praised Ryan’s underdog opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running “a very good campaign” and said of Ryan: “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country. 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 underscore the continuing divisions in the GOP two weeks after the party’s national convention in Cleveland, which was carefully choreographed to showcase unity. Also Tuesday, Rep. Richard L. Hanna (N.Y.) became the first sitting Republican member of Congress to declare publicly his plans to vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. 
 
 Trump said that Ryan has sought his endorsement but that he is only “giving it very serious consideration.” Responding to Trump, Ryan spokesman Zack Roday said in a statement: “Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump’s endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless.” 
 
 Trump made his comments during a wide-ranging 50-minute interview Tuesday afternoon over lunch at the Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia. 
 
 He said he will work to negotiate the terms of general-election debates in his favor, saying that three is “the right number” but that they should not be scheduled on the same nights as National Football League games or the baseball World Series. He said that he should have influence in selecting “a fair moderator” for each debate and that third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein should not be allowed on stage. “I’d rather have head to head” with Clinton, Trump said. 
 
 He took issue with the characterization of Clinton at last week’s Democratic National Convention as a fighter and a change-maker. “Hillary’s not a change person. She’s going to be a person to keep it just the way it is,” Trump said, biting into his cheeseburger. “It’s going to be four more years of Obama.” 
 
 Trump lashed out at the media, including The Post, which he accused of turning sharply against him since he secured the nomination. “It’s myself really against the media,” he said, citing what he views as “a tremendous bias against me.” 
 
 Trump’s statements about Ryan are the latest hiccup in what has been a fraught relationship for the two party leaders. Ryan endorsed Trump this spring and spoke on his behalf at the convention, but only after a period of public soul-searching. 
 
 Ryan has disagreed with Trump on several key issues — including his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States — and he issued a statement over the weekend that indirectly criticized Trump’s comments about the Khans. 
 
 “Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice,” Ryan said in the statement. “Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice — and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan — should always be honored. Period.” 
 
 Khizr Khan spoke at the Democratic convention with his wife, Ghazala, at his side. He said that Trump “smears the character of Muslims” and challenged his knowledge of the Constitution. The Khans have sat for numerous interviews in the days since, calling Trump’s character into question. 
 
 In the Tuesday interview, Trump defended his commentary about the Khans by saying, “I was viciously attacked on the stage, and I have a right to answer back.” 
 
 However, his campaign acknowledged the crisis in an email sent to congressional supporters this week with the subject line “Urgent Pivot: Khan and TPs.” The email asked allies on Capitol Hill to defend Trump’s heavily criticized remarks about the Khans by underscoring his commitment to ending “radical Islamic terror” and deemphasizing his most confrontational comments. 
 
 In the interview, Trump rejected the suggestion that some people have concluded that he lacks common decency. “I think frankly a lot of people agree with what I’m saying,” he said. “I was viciously attacked on the stage. All I did was respond to it. Pure and simple. It should’ve been a one-hour story, and they make it a longer story.” 
 
 He blamed what he called “unfair media” for giving the Khans a platform. 
 
 Nehlen, Ryan’s primary opponent, came to Trump’s defense over his confrontation with the Khans, for which Trump thanked him in a tweet Monday night. Trump’s shout-out sparked speculation that he might endorse Nehlen. 
 
 Asked about this in the interview, Trump said Ryan’s “opponent is a big fan of what I’m saying — big fan. His opponent, who’s running a very good campaign, obviously, I’ve heard — his opponent sent me a very scholarly and well-thought-out letter yesterday, and all I did was say thank you very much for your very nice letter.” 
 
 In making his comments Tuesday, Trump may have been seeking retribution for Ryan’s dragging his feet about endorsing Trump in May. Trump’s phrasing of his uncertainty about Ryan — “I’m just not quite there yet” — echoes what Ryan told CNN’s Jake Tapper in a May interview about endorsing Trump: “I’m just not ready to do that at this point. I’m not there right now.” 
 
 [Trumps draw fire for suggesting ‘strong’ women can avoid sexual harassment] 
 
 On Monday, McCain, a Vietnam War hero, issued a lengthy statement denouncing Trump for his comments about the Khan family. Asked about McCain’s rebuke, Trump said, “I haven’t endorsed John McCain. 
 
 “I’ve never been there with John McCain because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets,” Trump continued. “He has not done a good job for the vets, and I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets. So I’ve always had a difficult time with John for that reason, because our vets are not being treated properly. They’re not being treated fairly.” 
 
 McCain did not comment on Trump’s remarks Tuesday. But he did meet with Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who was in Arizona on Tuesday for two rallies. 
 
 McCain is locked in a three-way primary — the election is Aug. 30, and early voting begins this week — against former state senator Kelli Ward and tea party activist Clair Van Steenwyk. A third challenger, Alex Meluskey, suspended his campaign this week. 
 
 In the interview, Trump said he thought it was a mistake for senators to distance themselves from him because of his popularity with the Republican base. He singled out Sen. Kelly Ayotte — who, like Ryan and McCain, criticized his comments about the Khans — as a weak and disloyal leader in New Hampshire, a state whose presidential primary Trump won handily. 
 
 “New Hampshire is one of my favorite places,” Trump said. “You have a Kelly Ayotte who doesn’t want to talk about Trump, but I’m beating her in the polls by a lot. You tell me. Are these people that should be representing us, okay? You tell me.” 
 
 He continued: “I don’t know Kelly Ayotte. I know she’s given me no support — zero support — and yet I’m leading her in the polls. I’m doing very well in New Hampshire. We need loyal people in this country. We need fighters in this country. We don’t need weak people. We have enough of them. We need fighters in this country. But Kelly Ayotte has given me zero support, and I’m doing great in New Hampshire.” 
 
 Ayotte, whose aides said she still plans to vote for Trump, responded with a statement: “I call it like I see it, and I’m always going to stand up for our military families and what’s best for the people of New Hampshire.” 
 
 Trump went on to say that if he loses the election, he will start two or three “anti-certain candidate” super PACs, which he vowed to fund with $10 million apiece, to savage Republicans or Democrats of his choosing in future elections. He said his targets might include Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) or Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who both lost in the primaries to Trump but are eyeing another run in 2020. 
 
 Hanna, a three-term congressman who is not running for reelection this year, has bucked his party in the past on issues including same-sex marriage and climate change. He said Trump’s prolonged feud with the Khans was the final straw that pushed him to declare his support for Clinton. 
 
 “I saw that and felt incensed,” Hanna told Syracuse.com. “I was stunned by the callousness of his comments.” 
 
 If the Republican disunity is alarming Trump, he did not show it in the interview. He predicted that he would “do great” in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine campaigned together over the weekend. 
 
 “I’m going to do great in states that some people aren’t even thinking about,” Trump said. “I’ve got states that we can win that other Republican candidates wouldn’t even stop over for dinner.” 
 
 Asked which states he had in mind, Trump paused. 
 
 “Well,” he said. “I’d rather not say. . . . That’s my attitude on the military. I don’t like telling the enemy what I’m doing.” 
 
 Lateshia Beachum, Callum Borchers, Mike DeBonis, Karoun Demirjian, Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Kelsey Snell, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Sean Sullivan, David Weigel and Katie Zezima contributed to this report. ||||| Donald Trump looks out on the crowd gathered for his campaign rally Friday in Green Bay, Wis. | AP Photo Donald Trump endorses Paul Ryan, John McCain The GOP nominee vows to be a 'big tent' Republican like Ronald Reagan. 
 
 Republican nominee Donald Trump endorsed Paul Ryan at his Friday night rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, just days after rattling the GOP by withholding his support for the House speaker in his primary. 
 
 "In our shared mission to make America great again, I support and endorse our Speaker of the House Paul Ryan," Trump said, stressing the need for party unity as he read from a set of notes on his podium. “We need unity. We have to win this election. This is truly one of the most important elections in my lifetime." 
 
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 Acknowledging the need to work with Congress to accomplish his agenda, Trump went on to endorse Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, both of whom he also had pointedly declined to endorse in recent interviews. 
 
 “While I’m at it, I hold in the highest esteem Sen. John McCain for his service to our country in uniform and in public office and I fully support and endorse his reelection," Trump said. 
 
 Trump, who previously criticized McCain for being captured as a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, enraged Republican Party officials earlier this week when he refused to endorse some of the party's leading lights. On Friday, citing Republican icon and former President Ronald Reagan, Trump reversed his position, stressing the need to bring back the GOP's "big tent." 
 
 “I need a Republican Senate and a House to accomplish all of the changes that we have to make,” the New York billionaire said. “So I embrace the wisdom that my 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy.” 
 
 Praising Ayotte as "a rising star" in the GOP, Trump touted the virtues of party unity. 
 
 “Working hand-in-hand we will grow our majority in the House and in the Senate,” he said. “Arm-in-arm we will rescue the nation from the Obama-Clinton disaster that has bled our country dry and spread terrorism unabated across the world.” 
 
 Ryan is expected to easily defeat his challenger, Paul Nehlen, but Trump’s hesitation to endorse the GOP's congressional leader raised new concerns this week as the party looked to project a unified front following the Republican National Convention. 
 
 In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Trump said he was “not quite there yet” in supporting Ryan or McCain in their respective primaries. 
 
 “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.” 
 
 The interview, which prompted an angry phone call to top Trump officials from RNC chair Reince Priebus, came a day after the GOP nominee thanked Ryan’s primary opponent on Twitter for his “kind words.” 
 
 In a statement released in anticipation of Trump's announcement Friday, Nehlen praised Trump's leadership while claiming that his reluctance to endorse the House speaker "sent a clear signal to Wisconsin voters that Ryan is not his preferred candidate in this race." 
 
 “Given his stature as our party’s official nominee, Mr. Trump’s decision to support the Republican Speaker is appropriate and is a display of true leadership,” Nehlen said. “Unlike Speaker Ryan, Mr. Trump has made clear that this election is not about himself and is not about advancing his own personal agenda.” 
 
 The Trump campaign had claimed earlier this week that its policy was not to endorse in Republican primaries, even though he had previously endorsed North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers, who lost her seat in June after her district was redrawn. Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has also endorsed Ryan. 
 
 Ryan, meanwhile, endorsed Trump as the Republican nominee in June, but the two haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. Ryan and many other top Republican leaders pushed back as Trump feuded with the parents of a Muslim-American Army captain killed in Iraq. Ryan said the family’s sacrifice should always be honored. 
 
 Earlier on Friday, Ryan said his endorsement of Trump was not a “blank check” and that there was “of course” a point at which he could rescind his support, though he did not specify what that point might be. He added that he has not spoken to Trump since the convention and has no current plans to do so. 
 
 “I did say very clearly, privately and publicly, that if I hear things that I think distort conservatism, that disfigure our principles and our values as Republicans, I’m going to speak out and defend ourselves so that people in this country don’t get a mixed perception about who we are and what we believe in,” Ryan said in a radio interview in Milwaukee. “And I’ve had to do that from time to time, more than I certainly wanted to, like attacking Gold Star parents. So obviously, I’ve done that and I’m going to continue to do that if necessary. Where that line gets crossed, I don’t know where that is, if that is.” 
 
 Ryan, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson did not attend Trump's Green Bay rally, citing other obligations. Nehlen, however, tweeted that he was in the crowd.
– In what the Washington Post calls an "extraordinary breach of political decorum," Donald Trump isn't endorsing Paul Ryan in his Wisconsin primary battle. Trump tells the Post he's "not quite there yet" when it comes to backing Ryan. Trump may be getting his revenge on Ryan, who last spring said he was "not there right now" about endorsing Trump before finally giving in. It's also possible Trump's decision not to endorse Ryan has to do with Ryan not supporting Trump's continued attacks on the Khans. Meanwhile, Ryan's primary opponent, Paul Nehlen, defended Trump's comments this week, saying the Khans "attacked, ridiculed, and attempted to humiliate Trump," according to NPR. Trump then publicly complimented Nehlen's "very good campaign." “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump tells the Post. “We need very strong leadership." Trump claims Ryan sought his endorsement, a claim denied by a Ryan spokesperson. Regardless, Ryan is expected to easily defeat Nehlen, Politico reports. Trump also refused to endorse John McCain in his primary campaign, claiming McCain hasn't done right by the country's veterans. In the same Post interview, Trump called out New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte. It should be noted that both Ayotte and McCain denounced Trump's attacks on the Khans. Ayotte says she still plans to vote for Trump.