Jeb Bush got confrontational with the media Tuesday when asked about his the support his son, George P. Bush, gave to President Trump despite the president’s history of attacking the Bush family.
In a video of the brief exchange, which took place at an election night party in Austin as Bush celebrated his primary victory in his bid to be re-elected as Texas land commissioner, the elder Bush revealed that his son did not give him forewarning of TV ads in which he embraced Trump.
“No he didn’t,” Bush replied, adding that he was “grateful” that Trump reciprocated and endorsed his son, in the video posted to Twitter by the NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard.
After answering a question about what about his son he is most proud of as a father, Bush tried to close out the exchange with reporters, saying, “It’s fun to be here just as a dad. I’m not going to talk anymore to you guys.”
Jeb Bush on his son George P’s pro-Trump TV ads: “I’m a father. And I love my son. And I’m so happy he won…I’m grateful for President Trump endorsing my son. And I’m very proud of him. Whatever disputes I have with the president will remain quietly in my head today.” pic.twitter.com/2oAKH9fR2Q
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) March 7, 2018
Before he could walk away, Bush was again pressed on Trump’s feud with his family.
After some back-and-forth, with Bush saying he has no interest in the media’s “narrative” on the topic, the former Florida governor said there’s “no reason to be in an argument about this … I’m grateful for President Trump endorsing my son. And I’m very proud of him.”
“Whatever disputes I have with the president will remain quietly in my head today. I don’t have to get into an argument with someone in the press I’ve never met,” he added.
Jeb Bush and Trump were bitter rivals in the 2016 Republican presidential primary contest, during which Trump dismissed the former governor as “low energy.” Though Bush, whose father and brother were both presidents, had an impressive fundraising haul, he failed to muster up voter enthusiasm in early primary-season contests and dropped out of the race.
George P. Bush, who spoke to reporters as he celebrated his victory on Tuesday, described politics as a “full-contact sport” and said in primary battles, “We say things sometimes he don’t mean.”
George P. Bush on his pro-Trump ads despite POTUS’ mocking of his family: “Politics is a full-contact sport. In primary battles—Republican, Democrat—it’s tough. We say things sometimes we don’t mean…” pic.twitter.com/DTgajvk8eB
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) March 7, 2018
Though his grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, has called Trump a “blowhard” and uncle, former President George W. Bush, reportedly jokes that Trump’s administration makes his own administration look “pretty good” in comparison, George P. Bush said that they, along with his father, all congratulated Trump after his inauguration.
George P. Bush said that his victory tonight was about “bringing us together as a party, bringing that message to the Democrats in the fall,” and added that “we need his help in Texas,” listing off Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Housing and Urban Development Department as examples of federal agencies upon which the state relies.
