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8 year oldNo, not that one. And not that one, either.
George P. Bush — the Texas land commissioner, eldest son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, nephew of former President George W. Bush and grandson of former President George H.W. Bush — is breaking with the rest of the Bush family in supporting the Republican presidential nominee.
“From Team Bush, it’s a bitter pill to swallow,” George P. Bush said at a meeting of Texas GOP activists over the weekend, the Texas Tribune reported. “But you know what? You get back up and you help the man that won, and you make sure that we stop Hillary Clinton.”
While short of a formal endorsement of Trump, the comments are the closest a Bush has come to issuing one.
“I know a lot of us in this room had dogs in the fight in the primary,” George P. Bush, who serves as the Texas GOP’s victory chairman, told the audience. “But you know what? It’s time to put it aside.”
Jeb Bush, who dropped his bid for the Republican nomination in February, has been a vocal critic of Trump throughout the campaign. Last month, he predicted supporters of the real estate mogul will wind up feeling “betrayed” if Trump becomes president.
“There isn’t going to be a wall built,” Jeb Bush said in a recent MSNBC interview. “And Mexico’s not going to pay for it. And there’s not going to be a ban on Muslims. … People are going to be deeply frustrated, and the divides will grow in our country.”
Sally Bradshaw, Jeb’s longtime adviser, announced last week that if the presidential race in Florida is close, she’d vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Jeb’s brother Marvin said last month that he’d vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson.
And none of the Bushes attended last month’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The absence of the two most recent GOP presidents was particularly striking.
George P. Bush became the fourth generation of Bushes to hold public office when he was elected land commissioner in 2014.
The 40-year-old lawyer and former high school teacher was the only Bush to win his first election.
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