Winning over the Republican establishment after mounting a campaign effectively in opposition to it was always going to be tough for Donald Trump if he managed to get his hands on the GOP nomination. It is, as of yet, not totally clear how the party will react to a Trump nomination that looks almost assured now. On Wednesday, however, the Bush family gave some indication of their thinking on the Trump conundrum—they’re sitting this one out. Both the elder George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush do not plan to endorse Trump in his run for the White House, the Texas Tribune reports.
From the Texas Tribune:
Bush 41, who enthusiastically endorsed every Republican nominee for the last five election cycles, will stay out of the campaign process this time… “At age 91, President Bush is retired from politics,” [spokesman Jim] McGrath wrote in an email Wednesday. “He came out of retirement to do a few things for Jeb, but those were the exceptions that proved the rule.” His son Jeb Bush dropped out of the GOP presidential race in February. Bush 43, meanwhile, “does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign,” according to his personal aide, Freddy Ford.
An endorsement from either Bush appeared to have been a long shot considering the stinging personal attacks Trump launched against Jeb Bush while he was still in the race. That was enough for Jeb to endorse Ted Cruz after he bowed out. There’s also the fact that Trump was uncharacteristically outspoken for a Republican in his criticism of W’s handling of the Iraq War and hinted that he lied to the American people in the run up to the war.
