Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has stopped ignoring the prospect that Donald Trump will become the GOP presidential nominee. A new Bush campaign ad depicts Election Day with Trump at the top of the Republican ticket.
The governor has recently dodged answering whether he would pledge his support for Trump as nominee and he has avoided even entertaining the idea of a Trump presidency. But the ad, titled “Election Night,” goes where Bush has dared not go before.
“All right, with almost all of the vote now actually counted we can now project that Hillary Clinton will win,” CNN host Wolf Blitzer can be heard saying as images show Clinton winning the 2016 election.
Words then appear onscreen that read, “Donald Trump concedes defeat with Twitter post” and “Unprecedented victory not since 1984.”
The ad closes with text that reads, “DON’T PANIC. It’s not too late to change the future. Vote Jeb.”
“The presidential inauguration is exactly one year from today. The Democrats are hoping that they will meet Donald Trump in the general election so Hillary Clinton can cruise easily into the presidency one year from now, but we can’t let that happen,” said Allie Brandenburger, Bush spokeswoman, in an email. “Too many candidates in this race are running on rhetoric, not their records or solutions. Americans deserve better. Jeb has a plan to make us safer, stronger and freer and will beat Hillary Clinton.”
Bush is campaigning in New Hampshire alongside failed presidential candidate Lindsey Graham on Wednesday. The governor’s path to the nomination likely leads through the Granite State, but anything less than victory could mean a rocky road lies ahead for Bush.
Bush ranks sixth in the Washington Examiner‘s newest GOP presidential power power rankings. Trump ranks second.
