George Walker Bush never mentioned Donald Trump. But with his folksy touch, the former president unleashed a tough takedown Monday of the billionaire businessman who has upended a Republican Party his family has long led.
“I understand Americans are angry and frustrated,” Bush said during his first campaign rally for his brother, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. “But we do not need somebody in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration.”
Trump’s rise has confounded the Bush family and its allies.
But despite months of predicting the brash billionaire would fade, it’s Jeb Bush whose White House hopes are in peril, particularly if he’s unable to pull out a strong showing in Saturday’s South Carolina primary.
The race has entered an increasingly nasty phase in South Carolina, with numerous negative ads airing on local television following an unusually caustic debate this past weekend in which Trump confronted Jeb Bush about his brother’s record as president.
Trump has led polls in South Carolina, but is trying to fend off attacks from his chief rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who describes himself as “a consistent conservative” who can be trusted.
Bush is trying to pull ahead of Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich to emerge as the more mainstream alternative to Trump and Cruz, both of whom the party establishment considers unelectable.
George W. Bush emerged from his self-imposed political hibernation to try to give Bush a boost. He layered each validation of his younger brother with an implicit critique of Trump.
He urged voters to back a candidate who will be “measured and thoughtful” on the world stage. A candidate whose “humility” helps him understand what he doesn’t know. A candidate who can win in November’s general election.
“All the sloganeering and all the talk doesn’t matter if we don’t win,” Bush said. “We need somebody who can take a positive message across the country.”