Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush enlisted his brother, former President George W. Bush to try to give him a lift as he looks for a strong showing in South Carolina’s crucial primary.
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Bush returned to the frontline of American politics on Monday evening, coming to the aid of his brother Jeb’s faltering White House bid with some jokes at his own expense and a thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump’s “bluster”. “We need someone who can fix the problems that cause our anger and frustration … and that’s Jeb Bush”.
During a rally in Greenville, South Carolina on Monday, Trump revived his sweaty shtick that he says was inspired by Saturday’s GOP debate. But with his folksy touch, the former president unleashed a tough takedown of the billionaire businessman who has upended the Republican Party.
“If the ex-president is campaigning for his brother, I think he’s probably open to great scrutiny, maybe things that haven’t been thought of in the past”, Trump quoted, Monday. President George W. Bush, hoping SC voters deliver for Jeb like they did for W. I’ve been misunderestimated most of my life. After losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, the former Florida governor trails badly in the polls here – well behind Trump, who has a 20-point lead over his closest rival, Texas Senator, Ted Cruz.
Humility isn’t a word normally associated with Trump, who boasts of his success and dismisses Jeb Bush as weak. But the Florida presidential hopeful said the 2016 campaign should be about the future. For Jeb Bush it is do or die time.
For his part, Cruz dismissed Trump’s accusations as unfounded.
Trump accused George W. Bush of ignoring the Central Intelligence Agency and destabilizing the Middle East by invading Iraq around the belief that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Ted Cruz, who describes himself as “a consistent conservative” who can be trusted.
That crowd last night loved seeing president bush. Republicans in Nevada and Democrats in SC get to express their views in separate contests the following week.
The group – Our Principles PAC – is funding ads on Internet that underscore the call that Trump made during 2008 for the impeachment of Bush over the Iraqi War.
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Trump’s remarks, days ahead of Saturday’s Republican primary in SC, came after increasingly bitter exchanges between the two candidates in recent weeks.
