US House Speaker Paul Ryan vouches to work with Trump despite withholding endorsement

The two men issued a statement describing their meeting on Thursday as a "very positive step towards unification" that recognised "many important areas of common ground" as well as areas where they disagree. The meeting aimed at repairing their breach and unifying a party torn over Trump's rise to the cusp of the GOP presidential nomination.

Ryan has yet to come out in support of Trump after withholding his endorsement for him a week prior.

However, their statement suggested both are invested in clamping down on the internal conflicts of the republican party as they try to pull the party together.

When Trump entered the Republican National Convention building through a side door, about a dozen protesters who oppose his immigration positions demonstrated at the front, chanting "Down, down with deportation. Up, up with liberation."

Yet in recent days leading up to the meeting, Trump has eased his defiant tone.

When asked who he feels leads the party in his view, Trump said Ryan.

"I would say Paul for the time being and maybe for a long time," he said. "We can always have differences," Trump added. "If you agree on 70 percent, that's always a lot."

The two men represent vastly different visions for the Republican Party, and whether they can come together may foretell whether the republican party will heal itself.

Indeed, a big wave of republican voters appears to be moving behind Trump, despite big-name such as Ryan, both former president Bushes and the party's 2012 presidential nominee, Mitt Romney who have opposing opinions.