I was not the biggest fan of Jeb Bush from the start. But now, he gave me one more reason to dislike him.
Two days after Donald Trump became the Republican Party’s virtual nominee, the former governor announced that he would not be supporting Donald Trump or his rival, Hillary Clinton, in the general election.
In a Facebook post, Jeb blasted his former rival’s right wing credentials. The post reads: "Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character. 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."
Look, as I have said time and time again, Trump is not my #1 candidate. But this cannot be overlooked. Bush is right to call out Trump for his lack of consistency, in regards to conservatism. However, Bush seems to have no self-awareness to his own inconsistency.
Does anyone remember the “Loyalty Pledge”? The Republican National Committee asked all of their candidates, including Bush and Trump, to sign a pledge. It said “I [name] affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is.”
Though the pledge does not call anyone out in particular, many knew who it was referring to. Donald Trump had not yet made clear to rule out a third party campaign if he did not get the Republican nomination. This would take votes away from whoever the GOP candidate was and hand the election to the Democrats. So everyone, from the RNC to fellow candidates, pressured Trump into signing. If he did not sign, it would make him look terrible.
When the pledge was sent out, Jeb Bush had no problem signing it. After all, like Hillary, Jeb was the presumptive candidate even before the election began. He was the golden child of the more moderate Republicans and would be the third in the Bush Dynasty to hold the White House. What could possibly go wrong?
A lot. As it turns out, Bush’s brand of moderate conservatism did not go the distance. Starting out strong, he eventually fell to Trump and dropped out in February.
Now, I can sympathize with his frustration. As a Rubio supporter, I was angry when Rubio dropped out. I still am reluctant to vote for Trump until I see something I can live with. It is not going to be easy. And I know, it is not a legally binding document, so Bush does not have to support Trump.
That being said, Bush has shown his he cannot be trusted. He was all for support and loyalty when he was the front runner. But now that he has been cast aside, he decides to be spiteful and break his pledge. And yes, not endorsing a candidate and running third party are different. But the pledge says “I will ENDORSE” the nominee. By not endorsing Trump, he is just as bad.
Would Trump have broken the pledge if someone else was the nominee? Probably. And if he did, I would be sitting here blasting him for his disloyalty. But that is not the case.
So congratulations, Jeb. We see that your word means nothing. I’m glad you lost because you just showed us what you really are: a hypocrite.