Jon Huntsman Sr., father of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and a self-described “lifelong Republican,” argued that the tea party has ruined the Republican Party, and that the GOP doesn’t stand a chance unless someone like his son is elected.
“The tea party has completely captivated and ruined the Republican Party today and they’ll show this in 2016,” Huntsman Sr. said last week, Yahoo News reported. “Unless a Jeb Bush comes in or John Huntsman Jr., the Republicans don’t have a prayer.”
The junior Mr. Huntsman, who served two years as the U.S. ambassador to China, unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination in 2012.
Asked whether his son will run again in 2016, Mr. Huntsman Sr. said: “I don’t think so [but] I wish he’d listen to his father and would run. He’s just a bright, wonderful, decent individual who brings people together, who’s unifying … who is intelligent and knows the world of foreign policy extremely well,” Yahoo News reported.
Mr. Huntsman Sr., founder of Huntsman Chemical Corporation, added that he didn’t think a “moderate” Republican like his son could win the party’s nomination.
Similarly, he argued that Mr. Bush “would represent the Republican Party very well, but I doubt he’ll be embraced too heavily by the tea party gang.”
Mr. Huntsman Sr. also said Hillary Clinton “would be a fine president.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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