The campaign manager for Donald Trump referred to George H.W. Bush as a “92-year-old former president” and said she respected his right to vote for whomever he chooses.
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Townsend, 65, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland who on Facebook uses her middle name, Hartington, posted a picture of her shaking Bush’s hand.
And Louis Wade Sullivan, the Health and Human Services secretary under George H.W. Bush and the only African-American in his Cabinet, said this month that “though my enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton is somewhat tempered, I certainly believe she is an infinitely better choice for president than Donald Trump”.
As the news spread early Tuesday morning, McGrath took to Twitter to warn reporters against reporting how Bush will vote, saying it was unclear whether anyone could verify Kennedy Townsend’s account. “He is not commenting on the presidential race in the interim”, McGrath said.
However, she has not said who will get her vote on Election Day.
If the 2016 nominee is smart, he’ll ignore the news and focus his attention elsewhere – because if Trump goes after H.W. Bush directly, it will only make Trump appear even more like a petulant bully, while making Bush appear more sympathetic.
Conway suggested it was odd that the elder Bush might vote for “the wife of the man who knocked him out of the race”, referring to Bill Clinton’s successful run for the White House in 1992. Neither Jeb Bush nor former president George W. Bush has endorsed him or said they would vote for him. “But look, this was a bruising primary.so I know there are a lot of hurt feelings there”.
U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, asked whether he was surprised by Bush 41’s reported support for Clinton, said, “Candidly, no”. But like many Republicans, family members have been unwilling publicly to cross the aisle and state support for rival Hillary Clinton.
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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush-who has publicly bashed Trump at every opportunity since his also-ran finish in the GOP presidential primary-joined in what many critics called a “Trump-bashing ceremony” at this year’s televised Emmy Awards broadcast.
