End of Bush dynasty as Trump trounces Jeb
George W’s brother quits race for the White House
JEB Bush has quit the US presidential race after being humiliated by Donald Trump and tarnished by the legacy of the Iraq War started by his brother.
The former governor of Florida was sunk by sustained attacks from the real estate mogul and for saying he would have invaded Iraq, like George W Bush did, despite it being a hugely unpopular war.
Mr Bush called off his White House bid after coming in fourth in the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday with only 7.8 per cent of the vote. Mr Trump won with 32.5 per cent.
The decision marks the end of an era for the family described as the most successful political dynasty in US history.
His grandfather was a senator, his father George H W Bush was president from 1989 to 1993 while his brother held the post from 2001 to 2009.
His announcement means not one member of the family is now involved in high-level politics. In his concession speech, a sombre Mr Bush, 63, said he was proud of his campaign and that ‘ public service has been the highlight of (my) life’.
By contrast, an ebullient Mr Trump, 69, called on his supporters to help him clinch the Republican nomination and ‘put this thing away’. He said: ‘There’s nothing easy about running for president! It’s tough, it’s nasty, it’s mean, it’s vicious. It’s beautiful. When you win it’s beautiful.’ In the Demo- cratic caucus in Nevada, Hillary Clinton beat her rival Bernie Sanders with 52.7 per cent of the vote to 47.2 per cent.
The win gives Mrs Clinton, 68, much needed momentum and backs up claims by her supporters that she has the support of Hispanic and black voters.
In the early stages of the Republican campaign, Mr Bush – backed by a £100million election fund – had been leading the polls.
But the entry of Mr Trump and his unorthodox, insurgent campaign changed everything and made Mr Bush, with his soft views on immigration, seem out of step.
Mr Trump branded him ‘ lowenergy’ and Mr Bush performed badly in the Republican presidential debates.
Mr Bush said that he would have done the same as his brother in Iraq in 2003, even though it is seen by many as one of America’s worst foreign policy disasters which helped to create Islamic State.
During one horrendous week last summer, he changed his mind and said that he would not have invaded to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
But in the final weeks of his campaign, Mr Bush pivoted again and defended his brother, claiming that he kept America safe.
Mr Trump disagreed in the last Republican presidential debate and claimed that the George W Bush White House failed because it allowed the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon to happen.
In his speech after his defeat in South Carolina, Mr Bush took a veiled swipe at Mr Trump.
‘I firmly believe the American people must entrust this office to someone who understands that whoever holds it is a servant, not the master,’ he said.