Trump shrugs off the idea of an endorsement from Bush
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Version 0 of 1. Most politicians crave endorsements — but most politicians aren’t Donald Trump, who said Wednesday that he would rather not have the backing of rival Jeb Bush in the GOP presidential contest. The latest Bush-Trump dust-up began early Wednesday amid reports that Bush’s campaign had researched what would happen if the former Florida governor refused to pledge his support for Trump if the billionaire became the GOP nominee. The answer was that in at least three states — South Carolina, Kentucky and Utah — such a move would endanger Bush’s spot on the ballot because of state party rules, according to people familiar with the review. But Trump said he didn’t want Bush’s support anyway. “I really don’t want Jeb’s endorsement, because he is a low-energy person and he does not represent strength, power and stamina, which are qualities our country desperately needs,” Trump said in a sharply worded statement to The Washington Post. Once the presumed front-runner, Bush has been unable to compete in an election increasingly defined by Trump and the anti-Washington sentiment that has fueled his campaign. At Tuesday night’s debate in Las Vegas, Bush called Trump a “chaos candidate,” mocked him for taking military advice from Sunday-morning talk shows and repeatedly suggested that the front-runner was not a serious candidate. Trump responded on stage the same way he has always approached Bush’s candidacy: dismissively. “Jeb doesn’t really believe I’m unhinged. He said that very simply because he has failed in this campaign. It’s been a total disaster. Nobody cares,” Trump told the crowd, which laughed. Donors and several of Bush’s close friends had insisted for months that he was capable of slamming Trump for scaring voters and failing to present in-depth policy proposals. Some wanted Bush to go further, including Miami businessman Mike Fernandez, who has said he won’t support Trump if he wins the nomination. Supporters suggested Wednesday that while Bush won’t formally withhold support for Trump, his debate performance should signal how deeply he detests the New York businessman and his proposals. Bush told CNN on Wednesday that he homed in on Trump because “I don’t think he’s a serious candidate. I don’t know why others don’t feel compelled to point that out, but I did. And I got a chance to express my views and compare them to someone who talks a big game but really hasn’t thought it through.” Bush has repeatedly rejected the idea that Trump will win the GOP nomination. “It’s a hypothetical, and I reject, out of hand, that he’s going to be the nominee,” he told voters in Hooksett, N.H., last week. Trump said in his statement to The Post that he believes Bush’s comments were coming from desperation, not principle. “While everyone said I beat him last night, I was only responding to his desperate attempt to stay relevant by attacking me,” the statement read. “Jeb is only doing this because I committed to run as a Republican last night — so dishonorable.” Trump reiterated his dismissal during a rally Wednesday in Mesa, Ariz. “I don’t care if a guy like Jeb Bush never endorses me,” he told supporters. “It wouldn’t bother me at all. I think it’s a negative.” Robert Costa in Las Vegas and Jenna Johnson in Mesa, Ariz., contributed to this report. |