Paul Ryan spoke for 12 minutes in his RNC speech. He mentioned Donald Trump exactly once.

Paul Ryan promoted the Republican Party at the RNC
(Image credit: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

House Speaker Paul Ryan has a complicated relationship with his party's presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and that was clear in his speech at Tuesday's Republican National Convention. Mere hours after the GOP officially nominated Trump, Ryan took aim at Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and the Democratic Party, but mentioned Trump just once, saying that "only with Donald Trump and Mike Pence do we have a chance at a better way." The bulk of his speech was about his own vision for the Republican Party, and his call to action was electing "a conservative governing majority."

"What do you say that we unify this party?" Ryan said, to his first big applause of the night. "Whatever we lack going into this campaign, we should not lack for motivation.... It is all on the line," he said. "Let's show America our best and nothing else."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.