Former Gov. Jeb Bush said he will not vote for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in the general election. Bush was one of the 16 Republican presidential candidates Trump defeated in the primaries.
“Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character,” Bush wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “He has not displayed a respect for the Constitution. And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all reasons why I cannot support his candidacy.”
Bush, like the rest of the GOP candidates, signed a loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee.
Trump was an assiduous foil of Bush throughout the primaries, attacking the former governor’s immigration stance and the Bush family at large throughout the early primary season, culminating in Trump’s claim that George W. Bush intentionally lied to justify the Iraq invasion. Jeb Bush dropped out of the presidential campaign after a bad defeat in South Carolina, where Trump cruised to victory.
The former 2016 presidential hopeful made clear that he won’t vote for Hillary Clinton, the expected Democratic nominee, either. “In November, I will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, but I will support principled conservatives at the state and federal levels, just as I have done my entire life,” Bush wrote.
“For Republicans, there is no greater priority than ensuring we keep control of both chambers of Congress. I look forward to working hard for great conservatives in the Senate and House in the coming months.”
Jeb Bush’s announcement comes on the same day that former Vice President Dick Cheney agreed to back the real estate mogul, but one day after House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he’s “not ready” to endorse Trump.
“I’m not there right now, and I hope to though, and I want to,” Ryan said to CNN’s Jake Tapper. “But I think what is required is that we unify this party. And I think the bulk of the burden on unifying the party will have to come from our presumptive nominee.”
