In San Antonio, Trump Attacks Ryan for "Total Disloyalty"

^{Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout.}

^{*Clarification appended.}

SAN ANTONIO — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, speaking at a Tuesday fundraiser here, continued to call out members of his own party for not being fully supportive of him, including U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, whom he accused of "total disloyalty to the party."

Trump promised to be "fighting like hell" until Nov. 8 but expressed frustration with resistance in his own party — especially from Ryan, who announced Monday he would focus on down-ballot races in the home stretch to Election Day. Trump brought up Ryan unprompted multiple times throughout his remarks at the fundraiser, a recording of which was obtained by The Texas Tribune.

"The nice part about Ryan's total disloyalty to the party," Trump told donors, who broke out in boos. "This happened before. Trump sneezes. He has a news conference. 'I don't like the way he sneezes.'"

"You know, if he spent as much time negotiating a good budget," Trump added, getting applause. "I said if he spent as much time negotiating the budget, spent time on illegal immigration, helping the military, jobs — that's one of the other things, right? — Obamacare, instead of worrying about stuff that should be none of your business." 

Trump went on to boast about receiving the most votes in the history of the GOP primary system, suggesting it shows he knows how to win elections more than Ryan does. The Wisconsin congressman was the running mate for 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney. 

"This guy lost four years ago," Trump said. "He lost four years ago in like a landslide. It was not a close election."

"So they ought to focus on running the government and other things and sort of leave us alone," Trump added. "But I think we're going to do very well." 

Trump brought up Ryan again at the end of his remarks, taking another dig at his time on the Romney ticket. Trump sharply contrasted his approach to the final weeks of the race with that of the "last team" — which, he noted, included Ryan.

"I think they forgot that there was an election because something happened in the last month where you didn't see them, right?" Trump said. "You didn't see them. I said, 'Why aren't they on the shows? Why aren't they all over the place?'" 

Earlier in his remarks, Trump said occasionally "our own party gets in the way" of his campaign. "Sometimes it's harder to beat our own party than it is to beat the person on the other side," Trump told donors.

Trump previewed that message earlier Tuesday on Twitter, railing against Ryan as a "very weak and ineffective leader." Trump also tweeted Tuesday that the "shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to." 

At the fundraiser, Trump repeated the "shackles" line, suggesting he feels more untethered from the Republican establishment than ever following Ryan's announcement Monday. "It feels so good," Trump told donors.

Trump spoke for roughly 15 minutes at the fundraiser, which was held at the Grand Hyatt hotel in downtown San Antonio. Notable attendees included Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs Trump's efforts in Texas, and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. 

Read more of our related coverage:

• Where Texas Republicans stand on Donald Trump. 
• Touring Muleshoe, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz reiterated his support for Donald Trump, saying Hillary Clinton is "manifestly unfit" to be president. 
• U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan is coming to Texas to raise money as concentrates his attention on protecting the House Republican majority with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket.

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify comments by Donald Trump regarding House Speaker Paul Ryan's election strategy as Republican Mitt Romney's running mate in 2012.