Donald Trump just explained how Mike Pence's endorsement of Ted Cruz 'was more of an endorsement for me'

Donald Trump held a press conference Saturday to formally introduce Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) as his 2016 running mate. In the process, he took the time to explain his long-held belief that Pence's previous endorsement of his rival, Ted Cruz, "was more of an endorsement for me."

Trump described the endorsement as something Pence was forced to do "under tremendous pressure from establishment people." "If you remember," he argued, "[Pence] talked about Trump, then he talked about Ted — who's a good guy, by the way, who's going to be speaking at the convention, Ted Cruz, good guy. But he talked about Trump, Ted, then he went back to Trump. I said, 'Who did he endorse?'"

When Trump first made similar comments about Pence's endorsement in May, the governor responded by publishing an op-ed enthusiastically linking Cruz to Ronald Reagan.

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Throughout the press conference, the two men showered each other with compliments. Trump called Pence his "partner" and "a man of honor," and Pence called Trump a "builder," a "fighter," and a "patriotic American."

As the New York Times notes, Trump's pick could prove politically useful, but it makes for something of an uncomfortable combination, as the two men have disagreed on a number of issues, including but not limited to abortion, gay marriage, religion, smoking, trade, banning Muslims from the United States, and, apparently, whether Mike Pence means what he says.