Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry explained Monday why he dropped out of the 2016 race and delved into what ultimately doomed his short-lived campaign.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Perry blamed his inability to get on the first debate stage in Cleveland, Ohio on August 6 and the lingering abuse of power charges, which he has been unable to shake.
“We knew this was going to be a tough race,” Perry said. “We knew early on that there were two things that we had to take care of — two things that needed to go away, if you will, and another thing that needed to happen.”
Perry first pointed to the indictment from his time as governor, telling the host that it “had a real corrosive effect” on the campaign’s ability to fundraise.
The long-time Texas governor also said that making the main debate stage last month was crucial to any potential success, and that missing out had a “really negative effect” on fundraising. Perry missed out by a fraction of a percentage point to Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“When those two things didn’t happen, it had a very negative impact on our fundraising through the summer,” Perry said.
Fundraising soon tapered off, forcing the former Texas governor to stop paying campaign staff and start shuttering campaign offices until he announced his withdrawal from the race last Friday.
Perry said it was “way too early” to endorse one of the remaining 2016 candidates. However, he warned that the GOP needs to avoid “hot rhetoric” and turning the primary process into “reality TV,” though he did not identify real estate mogul by Donald Trump by name until Hannity prompted him.
