US House Speaker Paul Ryan has said he cannot currently support Donald Trump as Republican presidential nominee.
Mr
Ryan, the highest-ranked elected Republican, called for Mr Trump to strive for
"higher aspirations".
Mr
Trump, he said, "deserved" the nomination but must do more to unite
the party.
Former
presidents George W Bush and George H W Bush also said on Thursday they will
not endorse the controversial presumptive nominee.
"I
think what a lot of Republicans want to see is that we have a standard bearer
that bears our standards," Mr Ryan told CNN.
There
has been persistent speculation that Mr Ryan, the 2012 vice-presidential
nominee alongside Mitt Romney, may make a last-minute run for the top job.
But
he has frequently sought to dispel those claims and did so again on Thursday.
In December 2015, Mr Ryan harshly
criticised Mr Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US.
He said it was "not what this
party stands for and more importantly it's not what this country stands
for".
Although several senior Republicans
like Mr Romney have already voiced their objection to the nominee, Mr Ryan is
the highest ranked to do so.
Protests have plagued appearances by Mr
Trump, with particular focus on his plan to build a wall on the Mexican border
and deport 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Here are the Top Republicans divided
over Trump
Supporting:
- New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte
- Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson
- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
- Former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
- Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
- Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval
- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
Not
supporting:
- House Speaker Paul Ryan
- Former President George H W Bush
- Former President George W Bush
- Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
- Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse
Yet
to comment:
- Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
- Texas Senator Ted Cruz
- Ohio Governor John Kasich
- Florida Senator Marco Rubio
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