Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Monday credited Donald Trump with finding a way to connect with everyday Americans in a way that other candidates haven’t been able to do.
“It’s just amazing,” he told Matt Lauer on NBC’s “Today” Monday morning. “This election year is so different from most of, if not all, of the earlier ones that I’ve experienced.”
“[Trump] has caused people to respond in a way that most politicians have not been able to do,” Rumsfeld added. “I see someone who has touched a nerve with our country.”
According to Rumsfeld, who served as the Secretary of Defense under both President Gerald Ford and President George W. Bush, the rise of Trump and newfound popularity of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders shows that voters want political alternatives.
“That fact that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are able to draw 10-, 15-, 20- or 30-thousand people to hear them speak says that there’s something going on in our country that they’re appealing to in a very interesting, unusual way,” he said.
Rumsfeld also criticized former President George H.W. Bush, who recently said he has an “iron-ass” personality.
“I was amazed that he said what he said when he said it,” he said. “I didn’t think it was very complimentary of his son [former President George W. Bush].”
“I don’t think it was very helpful to his other son, who is running for president,” he said of Jeb Bush. “I think it was a strange thing for him to be doing.”
In analyzing the stalled campaign of Jeb Bush, he added, “I suppose there are some people that are uncomfortable with a dynasty.”
