Jeb Bush told CNN that he thinks a fellow Republican should challenge President Trump in 2020.
Said Bush: “I think someone should run just because Republicans ought to be given a choice. It’s hard to beat a sitting president, but to have a conversation about what it is to be a conservative, I think it’s important.”
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) “warns that Republicans are in for a beating in the fall elections if congressional races focus on the rhetoric and character of President Trump,” USA Today reports.
“Bush lambasted Trump’s erratic leadership style, obsession with Twitter and ‘racist’ comments that could cost Republicans control of Congress in November if they can’t distance themselves from the former reality TV star.”
Said Bush: “If the election is nationalized and it’s not about the economy, then we’ll lose.”
“When I ran for office, I said he is a chaos candidate and would be a chaos president. Unfortunately, so far chaos organizes the presidency right now.”
— Jeb Bush, in an interview with CNN.
“He was Godzilla walking into the power plant. He touched the third rail, he touched the fourth rail, he touched the fifth rail … he just got stronger.”
— David Kochel, chief strategist to Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
Jeb Bush suggested voting for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson at a private luncheon on Wednesday, those present tell the New York Daily News, seemingly going further than his previous comments that he’d consider voting for Johnson.
Jeb Bush told WABC that he doesn’t believe Donald Trump has had a sincere policy evolution on immigration.
Said Bush: “I don’t know what to believe about a guy who doesn’t believe in things. This is all a game. His views will change based on the feedback he gets from a crowd or what he thinks he has to do.”
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) told the Miami Herald that she isn’t going to vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton for president, but she has no plans to vote for a third party candidate.
Said Ros-Lehtinen: “I think I’ll write in the name Jeb Bush.”
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush (R) is now asking Texas Republicans to support Donald Trump, the Texas Tribune reports.
“Addressing state GOP activists Saturday, Bush said it was time to put aside any lingering animosity from the primaries — where Trump defeated Bush’s dad, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, among others — and get behind Trump.”
Said Bush: “From Team Bush, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but you know what? You get back up and you help the man that won, and you make sure that we stop Hillary Clinton.”
“Conservatism is temporarily dead. I mean, if you look at it, we have two candidates. Donald Trump is barely a Republican. He’s certainly not a conservative.”
— Jeb Bush, in an interview with the Washington Post.
Jeb Bush told NBC News that voters are going to “feel betrayed” by Donald Trump if he wins the election.
Said Bush: “Trump, you know, to his credit was very smart at exploiting these kind of opportunities. He’s a master at understanding how the media works – more than anybody I’ve seen in politics. Kudos to him for, you know, kind of creating the environment and then manipulating the environment to his effect. The tragedy of this though, is that there isn’t going to be a wall built. And Mexico’s not going to pay for it. And there’s not going to be a ban on Muslims. None of that is – this is all like an alternative universe that he created. The reality is, that’s not going to happen. And people are going to be deeply frustrated and the divides will grow in our country.”
Donald Trump accused Jeb Bush of trying to undermine his candidacy, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “By the way, Jeb is working on the movement, just so you understand. I love competition like that. I love it.”
Looking back at the primaries, Jeb Bush super PAC adviser Mike Murphy told CNBC that he doesn’t see a scenario where his candidate could have won.
Said Murphy: “You know, once the debates started and it was clear that Jeb’s style, which would lend itself very well to a president of the United States or even a general election candidate, was the opposite of what they were looking for in the primary — I mean, when Trump said low energy, what he was really saying was too polite, too civil, too many big words. Jeb’s not built for the stupidest campaign in the world.”
Donald Trump thinks his former rival Jeb Bush is going to be able to shake off that “low energy” problem, and endorse him, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “He will get a burst of energy and he will do it.”
Jeb Bush told the Dutch news agency NRC Handelsblad that it’s “uncertain” whether the Republican Party will survive as an institution.
Said Bush: “Parties no longer stand for anything, but become a vehicle for the ambitions of their leaders. Politics becomes a personality show.”
He also blamed the media: “The press basically became his partner.”
Jeb Bush told CNN acknowledged that his presidential campaign made mistakes but doesn’t think it would have made much of a difference.
Said Bush: “I’ve learned to never say never. But this was my chance. This was the chance and I ran into a storm. It just didn’t resonate—people were interested in other things this election.”
Jeb Bush endorsed Ted Cruz, “becoming the most prominent member of the Republican establishment to support the Texas senator as he tries to slow Donald Trump’s efforts to capture the presidential nomination,” the New York Times reports.
“The endorsement came as aides to Mr. Cruz, who is unliked by much of the Republican leadership and many of his Senate colleagues, have been courting high-profile supporters to bolster his candidacy. The Cruz campaign has also sought support from Sen. Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race after losing his home state to Mr. Trump on March 15.”
Mike Allen: “The news will surely irk Rubio, who could have benefited greatly from Bush’s embrace. But a Republican source said: ‘Jeb came to believe Marco was not up to the job of being President. It was never really under serious discussion.'”
“In the last weeks of his flagging presidential bid, former Florida governor Jeb Bush loaned or gave his campaign nearly $407,000 as it struggled to pay its bills,” the Washington Post reports.
“New Federal Election Commission filings show that Bush’s campaign spent $3.6 million last month before he dropped out Feb. 20 — raising just $1.18 million in the same period. A large share of the money came from the candidate himself, who gave his campaign $56,983.50 on Feb. 1. The next day, he loaned the campaign $250,000. And on Feb. 16, four days before the South Carolina primary, he gave an additional $100,000.”
“Jeb Bush, weighing an endorsement in the Republican primary, will meet with each of Donald Trump’s rivals in the final days leading up to the Florida primary,” Politico reports.
“The former Florida governor, who left the race last month, is planning to meet with Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich in the immediate days ahead.”
“That Bush isn’t meeting with Trump doesn’t come as a surprise.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
More about Taegan Goddard →