The W factor: Jeb Bush says his brother won’t “get in the slop” with Donald Trump

GOP_2016-Bush

Donald Trump is in first in every Palmetto State poll ahead of the South Carolina GOP primary. Jeb Bush is somewhat farther back.

Jeb is bringing brother George W. in to campaign for him, most notably 6 p.m. Monday  in North Charleston. However, W won’t “get in the slop” with Trump, Jeb said Monday.

“He’s proud of what he did. He served with honor and distinction,” Jeb Bush said of Bush 43 on “Fox and Friends.”

“Criticizing my brother, castigating him, pushing him down isn’t going to do anything. … he’s paid his dues, he doesn’t have to get in the slop with Donald Trump,” Jeb Bush said Monday morning.

“President Bush has been incredibly supportive of his brother’s campaign and Governor Bush is excited to have him out on the trail,” said Bush spox Kristy Campbell, as reported in the Charleston Post and Courier. “With the threats facing our nation and our allies, we need a steady hand. Few people understand that better than President Bush who knows that we need a tested, strong leader as our next commander in chief.”

It will be interesting to see if or how Trump counteracts the George W. Bush event Monday night, and if he continues with his sharp critiques of the foreign policy choices of the past decade that highlighted Saturday night’s debate.

Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, and Donald Trump are all barnstorming South Carolina this week.

Rubio has events on Monday in Rock Hill (a Charlotte suburb), Florence and Lexington (a Columbia suburb). Tuesday finds Rubio in Beaufort, Summerville and North Myrtle Beach. Notable omissions in this two-day schedule: the Upstate region, with its concentration of evangelical values voters, which seems like Ted Cruz country.

The same geographical choice was made by Bush, who hits North Charleston, Rock Hill, and Leesville (a Columbia suburb) in the next couple of days.

Trump, meanwhile, has announced plans to hit the whole state through Friday, including a stop in Greenville on Monday night, and Walterboro and Sumter later in the week.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski



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