Bob Dole, the GOP’s 1996 nominee for president, is supporting Donald Trump because of the former Kansas senator’s “obligation to the party.”
Dole did not sound gung-ho about backing Trump, but told NPR he intends to fall in line with the Republican Party anyway.
“I’ve been a Republican all my life, and I know that both candidates are flawed, and Trump has done some things that would curl your hair, things that he shouldn’t have said,” Dole told NPR. “What am I gonna do? I can’t vote for George Washington.”
Dole continued, “So I’m supporting Donald Trump. I’ve talked to him twice and hope to talk to him again and just congratulate him for toning down the rhetoric and talking about the issues and not about people.”
When Dole spoke with Trump on the phone, he said to NPR, Dole told Trump he thought former House Speaker Newt Gingrich would make “an excellent choice for vice president” because of his knowledge of Congress. The 92-year-old Dole said he advised Trump, age 69, to quit “naming people in a derisive way.”
Dole is the only former Republican nominee for president expected to attend this summer’s GOP convention in Cleveland. Former Presidents Bush, Arizona Sen. John McCain, and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney have all said they do not plan to attend the convention.
While other Republicans have begun walking back their support for Trump given his race-based comments about a federal judge, Dole said he thinks Trump is on the “right track.” But if Trump gets back on the wrong track, Dole said, a lot of people would stay home and not vote in November.
The GOP convention begins in Cleveland on July 18, in little more than one month.
