Mike Pence makes first solo campaign stop in Wisconsin

Waukesha, Wis. — Making his first solo appearance of the national campaign, Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence swooped into Wisconsin's GOP heartland to assure supporters that presidential candidate Donald Trump will bring conservative leadership to the White House.

"Having the opportunity to know this good man, I truly believe this builder, this patriot, this fighter is going to make America great again," Pence said.

The Indiana governor joked that he was a "B-List Republican celebrity." But as a social and fiscal conservative, he was dispatched to a part of Wisconsin that decisively rejected Trump during the April primary but which is key to Republican hopes of winning the state in the fall.

Pence's appearance at the Waukesha County Exposition Center came in the wake of Trump's controversial remarks urging Russia to find Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's missing emails.

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said during a morning news conference. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."

Trump's comments drew immediate push-back from a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan. Brendan Buck, a spokesman for the Janesville Republican, said: "Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug. (Vladimir) Putin should stay out of this election."

Pence issued a statement that said: "The FBI will get to the bottom of who is behind the hacking. If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences."

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But Pence also chided Clinton and her party when he added that the Democrats are "singularly focusing on who might be behind it and not addressing the basic fact that they've been exposed as a party who not only rigs the government, but rigs elections while literally accepting cash for federal appointments is outrageous. The American people now have absolute and further proof of the corruption that exists around Hillary Clinton. It should disqualify her from office, if the media did their job."

During his remarks in Waukesha, Pence did not address the controversy. Instead, he recounted how he "answered that call in a heartbeat," when Trump asked him to join the ticket.

Pence called Trump "a leader who will grab Washington, D.C., by the lapels." Pence vowed that under a Trump administration, the military will be rebuilt and borders secured. He said that Trump would appoint able justices to the Supreme Court and be a leader on the world stage.

"It is change vs. the status quo, and I am telling you here in Waukesha when Donald Trump is elected, the change will be ... huge," Pence said.

Supporters at the rally said Pence on the ticket confirmed Trump's promises about a conservative agenda. Sammy Geraci, who supported Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and then Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the primaries, said the Pence pick brought him over to Trump.

Geraci said he has faith in the presidential nominee "now that he's started naming names" and making conservative picks.

A collection of GOP leaders praised Pence, lauding his conservative credentials.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus rallied the crowd by telling them of Trump's post-convention bump in the polls.

"The fact is, Americans have had enough of Hillary Clinton's corruption, Americans have had enough of Hillary Clinton's cronyism, Americans have had enough of her email scandal," Priebus said.

Gov. Scott Walker said Pence will be "an outstanding vice president" and added that one of the best things Trump has done in the campaign was putting the Indiana governor on the ticket.

"Donald Trump was giving us an insight into how he'll govern," Walker said, adding that he was voting "his conscience" in this election. He lauded the judges that Trump listed as potential U.S. Supreme Court justices.

"We had a pretty good convention last week, they're having a less than stellar one this week," Walker said, adding that Clinton put national security at risk by putting her emails on a private server.

The email issue has dogged Clinton, who used a private server while secretary of state. She deleted thousands of emails she said were private before turning over others to the State Department. The FBI looked into the issue and declined to bring charges.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks published on its website last week thousands of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee. Damaging revelations that showed the DNC favoring Clinton over her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, led to the ouster of party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. President Barack Obama has said that outside experts blamed Russia for the leak.

In a statement, Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said of Trump's comments that it was probably the first time a major party presidential candidate encouraged "a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent."

"That's not hyperbole, those are just the facts," Sullivan said in a statement. "This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue."

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USA TODAY and The Associated Press contributed to this report