Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:05 pm
During the GOP primary campaign, Donald Trump spent a lot of time calling Jeb Bush “low-energy,” but the former Florida governor was fired up on Thursday when he slammed the Republican nominee’s recent behavior, specifically on the subject of immigration.
In an exchange on Rita Cosby’s ‘Election Central’ radio program, Bush talked about Trump’s verbal waffling on immigration – even though his actual policy remains unchanged – and said it’s impossible to know what Trump’s views really are.
Audio:
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Bush said:
I can only say that whatever his views are this morning, they might change this afternoon, and they were different than they were last night, and they’ll be different tomorrow. So I can’t comment on his views because his views seem to be ever changing depending on what crowd he’s in front of. Sounds like a typical politician, by the way…all the things Donald Trump railed against, he seems to be morphing into.Â
…
I don’t know what to believe about a guy who doesn’t believe in things. I mean he doesn’t … this is all a game. He doesn’t … his views will change based on the feedback he gets from a crowd, or, you know, what he thinks he has to do. Life is too complex. For me, I couldn’t do that. I have to believe what I believe, and if it’s popular, great, if it’s not, I try to get better at presenting my views. But shifting my views because, because it’s political to do it? That’s what politicians do in this country, that’s what Trump is trying to do right now. I find it abhorrent.
What Donald Trump has been doing lately is try to have it both ways.
He ridiculed Jeb Bush during the primary campaign for his stance on immigration, but he’s now trying to adopt Bush’s (low-energy?) tone, all while sticking closely to the same policies that his anti-immigrant base will applaud.
Trump claims to be the only non-politician in the race, but his behavior certainly indicates that he is doing political backflips to avoid losing any more support than he already has against Hillary Clinton.
Trump knows he is losing, so he’s trying to con his way back into the race. If Jeb Bush’s statements are any indication, his waffling isn’t doing a very good job of winning back disaffected, moderate Republicans.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
