2016 loser Jeb Bush wants someone in the Republican Party to take on President Trump in a 2020 primary challenge — but he wants someone who has a chance to win (which, for obvious reasons, excludes Jeb).
Sorry, we meant “Jeb!” When the former Florida governor got his clock cleaned by the reality talk show host-turned-politician last go round, his campaign slogan was just that, Jeb with an exclamation point. Trump quickly dubbed him “low-energy Jeb” after his lackluster debate performances, and despite that high energy exclamation point, the governor was done.
But Jeb is back (kinda) and he’s not playing nice with others in the GOP. He calls Trump’s policies “dangerous” and is urging a Republican to challenge the incumbent in 2020.
“I think someone should run just because Republicans ought to be given a choice,” Bush said on CNN’s “The Axe Files,” which is hosted by former Obama adviser David Axelrod. “It’s hard to beat a sitting president, but to have a conversation about what it is to be a conservative, I think it’s important.”
Jeb thinks Republicans should have a choice of “competing ideologies” in the next election and not a single candidate on the ticket. “Our country needs to have competing ideologies that people — that are dynamic, that focus on the world we’re in and the world we’re moving toward rather than revert back to a nostalgic time,” he said in a dig at Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Bush also said “We haven’t had a major crisis to deal with, but this unilateralism or going-alone-ism I think is really dangerous,” The Hill reported.
“Our friends no longer believe they can trust the United States and our enemies, in many cases, feel emboldened by this approach,” he reportedly added. “I think it defies the…bipartisan kind of consensus on foreign policy that has, by and large, kept America safe,” he said.
He also said Trump is not presidential. “I think the symbolic, you know the kingly duties of the presidency, that’s where he falls short, and it’s important.”
Jeb Bush tells @davidaxelrod that President Trump falls short in "symbolic" presidential duties.
“It’s important during national tragedies, it’s important in moments of crisis, it’s important in the day-to-day creation of culture that helps sustain us.” https://t.co/ukrUaW0A05 pic.twitter.com/jlHIBdVAIN
— CNN (@CNN) March 16, 2019
But Jeb did acknowledge that Trump has performed well. “You can honestly say he’s done good things in terms of policy and applaud them.”
Bush’s comments came after Axelrod mentioned Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who is said by some to be considering a 2020 run. In a speech at Hogan’s inauguration, Bush praised him for being “at the top of a list of leaders that I admire today because what’s happening here in Annapolis is the antithesis of what’s happening in Washington, DC, these days.”
“People are talking to me about it,” Hogan said last month. “I’m flattered people are saying that and including me in those discussions. My focus, my plan right now is to stay here for four years and do the best job I can in Maryland, but I’ve said, ‘You never say never.’ Who knows what’s going to happen.”
One thing is sure: Jeb isn’t the guy who can go up against Trump in 2020 and knock the incumbent out. And few others are going to want that on their resume. So Jeb can wish for a challenger all he wants, it’s no sure thing that someone will accept the task.
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