Paul Ryan Spoke Privately to Trump About Controversial Judge Remarks

“I explained exactly what I thought about that comment," Ryan said.

Ryan's office confirmed to ABC News that the two spoke by phone Wednesday night.

Ryan also said Trump’s comments “get in the way” of Republicans’ efforts to give voters a “clear and compelling choice” in November.

“Hopefully, this won't continue,” Ryan said. “Hopefully, the campaign will move in a better direction so that it can be one that we can all be proud of.”

Ryan, who re-emphasized his support for Trump to House Republicans in a closed-door meeting Wednesday, is rolling out an election-year agenda for members of Congress and the party’s presidential nominee to run on in 2016.

“I believe that he's certainly better than Hillary Clinton,” Ryan told Stephanopoulos. “These are the choices we have.”

Ryan has pushed Republicans to offer an “inspirational, aspirational, and inclusive” message in 2016, he told Stephanopoulos Thursday.

“I don't know what's in his heart. But I do think, hope and believe that he's going to improve the tenor of the campaign, the tone of the campaign, the kind of campaign that he's going to run,” Ryan said.

But it’s the kind of message he hasn’t heard from Trump’s campaign yet, he confessed.

“It’s not,” he said, when asked about the tenor of Trump’s campaign. “And I hope that it gets there.”