Both President George H.W. Bush and his son, President George W. Bush, have said they will not attend, as have former presidential nominees, Mitt Romney and John McCain.
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Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus said Friday that he will work to close the divide between House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Donald Trump, the party’s presumptive nominee.
However, Graham, who has been one of Trump’s many inter-party detractors, forcefully says he’s not supporting the now-presumptive GOP nominee.
Republican Senator Lindsay Graham of SC also announced on Friday that he would not vote for Trump. “These are all reasons why I can not support his candidacy”, said Jeb, who raised a record Dollars 140 million for his presidential campaign but was humiliatingly defeated by Trump in the primary elections.
However, President Barack Obama did say when questioned about it at the White House: “This is not entertainment”.
“We’ve got a way to go from here to there”, said Ryan.
“After the election, regardless of who wins the presidency, I will do everything I can to help our new president deal with the many challenges facing our nation”, he said.
In the same statement, Trump thanked Dole and said “he is a wonderful man and it is a great honor to have his support”.
After criticizing Graham and talking about endorsements he’s received, Trump returned to the subject of the Bushes.
Graham’s refusal to support Trump is another stark illustration of the schism within the GOP – especially in the field of candidates who ran for president.
Trump first drew widespread criticism last June when he said in his presidential announcement speech that Mexico was sending “rapists” and drug dealers to the United States. He instead focused on a message of “unifying the party”, rather than stating his explicit support for Trump.
The former Florida governor made it clear in the lengthy Facebook post that he will not be voting for Trump in November.
For his part, Trump saw no issue with the tweet in an interview with Fox & Friends on Friday. “I said, ‘Listen, my view is just relax and be gracious and I’ll talk to Paul and we’ll try to work on this'”.
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“He is not a ideal man. But what I do believe is that he loves this country and he will surround himself with capable, experienced people and he will listen to them”.
