One member of the Bush family has decided to support Donald Trump, despite Trump’s criticism of former president George W. Bush and his frequent swipes at Jeb Bush during the GOP primaries.
Unlike Ted Cruz, who refused to endorse Donald Trump for a variety of reasons, including Trump’s vicious attacks on Cruz’s father and wife, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, Jeb’s son, who is Texas GOP’s victory chairman and has political aspirations of his own, told a training meeting for members of the State Republican Executive Committee and county chair on Saturday that bygones should be bygones, claiming, “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.” Bush has not formally endorsed Trump.
Trump had called Jeb Bush “low energy,” a “lightweight,” “a total stiff,” a “a sad and a pathetic person,” and “an embarrassment to his family.” He had accused George W. Bush of lying to start the Iraq War.
Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush both skipped the Republican convention in Cleveland last month; Jeb Bush, who has stated clearly that he won’t vote for the nominee in November, told MSNBC in July that Trump’s supporters will feel “betrayed” when his campaign promises don’t come to fruition, saying, “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.” In June, Trump accused Jeb Bush, without evidence, of fomenting opposition to him in order to prevent Trump from getting the nomination at the GOP convention.
In late May, Bush had been named Land Commissioner by Texas Republican Party Chairman Tom Mechler, prompting Tom Pauken, a former GOP state chairman, to blast the choice, saying, “It’s a very surprising decision, particularly in light of the father, the uncle and the grandfather making it abundantly clear they are not going to endorse Donald Trump for November. If you don’t have your own family on board, how do you encourage others?”
Pauken had likely been provoked by Bush’s comments in which he said he didn’t plan to endorse or even vote for Trump unless Trump changed, asserting, “I, along with others, are not in a position to endorse at this time because of concerns about his rhetoric and his inability to create a campaign that brings people together.”
So what changed?
“I, along with others, are not in a position to endorse at this time because of concerns about his rhetoric and his inability to create a campaign that brings people together.”
George P. Bush, prior to his conversion
There has been much speculation that Jeb Bush’s presidential aspirations have now been permanently squelched; leaving George P. Bush the only Bush left with a viable political career in the family business. Thus abandoning his father, grandfather, and uncle appears to be the path the younger Bush wants to take so he can pursue his own political goals.