One of the Bush brothers has made it official — not only will he not vote for Republican nominee Donald Trump, but he’s backing the Libertarian ticket.
Marvin Bush, an investment manager and one of the four sons of former President George H.W. Bush, said on a Washington sports-talk station Wednesday morning that neither Mr. Trump nor Democrat Hillary Clinton are acceptable choices, while the Libertarian ticket consists of more-traditional Republicans.
“That’s why I’m voting Libertarian. A hundred percent … both Gary Johnson and Bill Weld were each successful two-term governors who balanced their budgets, so they’re fiscally conservative, and their essential message is ’get bureaucracy off our backs,’ which used to be a part of what the Republicans believed,” said Mr. Bush, brother of President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, in an appearance on “The Sports Junkies” show on WJFK-FM, 106.7 The Fan.
The Bush family has made plain its dislike for Mr. Trump in ways that go beyond normal disappointment at Mr. Trump’s having defeated Jeb Bush among other candidates for the 2016 presidential nod.
No member of the family was at the Cleveland convention, meaning no living former president attended the Republican party’s showcase rally for the first time in decades for either convention.
Jeb Bush has said he could not vote for Mr. Trump but no Bushes have publicly backed any candidate as Marvin Bush did Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Marvin Bush blasted both major-party candidates, calling Mr. Trump a trash-talking embarrassment and Mrs. Clinton a habitual deceiver.
“Now some of these kids are saying the best way to win is rip somebody’s ass apart, and to run them down. And so when Trump’s talking about John McCain not being a hero and stuff like that, it’s very frustrating,” Marvin Bush said.
He was no kinder to Mrs. Clinton, whom he called “one of the most dishonest people that’s ever been in politics.
“You see this pattern — things like the commodity trading and Whitewater and Filegate and the email controversy today … and she’ll always say there are right-wing conspiratorialists who are bringing this up. Well, there’s a pattern of deception there that’s the reason her trust ratings are lower than almost any politician around.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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