Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry slammed rival Donald Trump on Monday, saying the real estate mogul is a “cancer” to conservatism.
“Defending conservatism against the cancer of Trump-ism — I hope you’ll join me Wednesday in DC,” the former Texas governor tweeted to his 303,000 followers, linking to an Opportunity and Freedom PAC event where he is expected to speak this week.
Mr. Trump responded Tuesday: “Rick Perry did an absolutely horrible job of securing the border. He should be ashamed of himself. Gov. Abbott has since been terrific.”
The Republican rivals have been publicly sparring for weeks since Mr. Perry became one of the first GOP presidential candidates to denounce Mr. Trump’s controversial remarks on illegal immigration, The Hill reported.
In a Monday op-ed for National Review, Mr. Perry wrote that “Trump-ism” involves “a toxic mix of demagoguery and nonsense.”
“Being president of the United States is serious business, not a reality TV show,” he wrote.
Mr. Trump responded by saying the former governor “doesn’t understand what the word demagoguery means” and that he ”should be forced to take an IQ test” before the first GOP debate.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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