NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA , United States (Reuters) — Former President George W. Bush came to the aid of his brother Jeb Bush’s Republican presidential campaign in South Carolina on Monday (February 15) with a rousing endorsement of his character and a call for voters to reject the angry bluster of Donald Trump.
The appearance of the elder Bush on the campaign trail may help Jeb Bush with South Carolina Republicans who hold the former president in high regard. But it also carries some risks, given his launching of the Iraq war in 2003, which ended up being unpopular with many Americans and which Republican front-runner Trump has seized on to criticize him.
George W. Bush, who has stayed out of politics for the most part since leaving office in early 2009, showed he remains an engaging speaker, generating cheers repeatedly over 20 minutes from the biggest crowd Jeb Bush has enjoyed in his campaign.
“There seems to be a lot of name calling going on but I want to remind you what our good dad told me one time. Labels are for soup cans. The presidency is a serious job that requires sound judgement and good ideas. And there’s no doubt in my mind that Jeb Bush has the experience and the character to be a great president,” the former president said.
Without mentioning Trump by name, the 69-year-old George W. Bush left no doubt he was talking about the New York billionaire who uses incendiary rhetoric at his campaign events.
Real strength, he said, means facing challenges and prevailing.
“Strength is not empty rhetoric. It is not bluster. It is not theatrics. Real strength comes from integrity and character. And in my experience, the strongest person isn’t usually the loudest person in the room,” George W. Bush said.
Whether the elder Bush’s presence will help his 63-year-old brother in the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday remains to be seen. Jeb is running fourth in polls in South Carolina, behind Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
Trump, at a debate in Greenville South Carolina on Saturday (February 13) blasted George W. Bush for launching the Iraq war in 2003 over claims, later proven false, that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
“I thought it was a little strange that a front running candidate would attack the president of the United states who did keep us safe while he was building a reality TV show. I’m sure it was a fantastic one, I have never seen it. I’m sure it was great. George Bush brought together a team to build the security apparatus that to this day is one of the reasons why we haven’t been attacked more often than we have. I’m proud of him and I know you are as well,” Jeb Bush told supporters, repeating his response to Trump at the debate.
George W. Bush’s standing has risen among all Americans since he left power in 2009 and he has stayed on the sidelines of his brother’s presidential bid, headlining private fundraisers but otherwise staying off the campaign trail.
That he is getting out in public now shows the urgency Jeb Bush sees in a good performance in South Carolina. Bush finished in sixth place in the Iowa caucuses and in fourth place in the New Hampshire primary – the first contests in the state-by-state battles to pick a party nominee for the Nov. 8 presidential election.