America
Jeb Bush refuses to back Donald Trump
Washington, May 7
Former Florida Governor Jeb
Bush has said he will not vote for Republican nominee Donald Trump in
November's presidential election.
Bush joins several high-profile Republicans who have refused to support the New York businessman's campaign.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday he "was not ready" to support Trump, but will meet him next week.
Breaking with tradition, Bush's father and brother - both former presidents - also withheld support.
Some Republicans have said they would back Democrat Hillary Clinton but Bush ruled that out.
"Donald
Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character,"
Bush said. "And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all
reasons why I cannot support his candidacy."
Bush previously pledged to support the eventually Republican nominee while he was still a candidate for president.
Republican Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina also announced on Friday that he would not vote for Trump.
"I think Donald Trump is going to places where very few people have gone and I'm not going with him," Graham told CNN.
The Bush campaign swiftly responded to Senator Graham who also was a Republican candidate for president.
"While
I will unify the party, Lindsey Graham has shown himself to be beyond
rehabilitation. And like the voters who rejected him, so will I," Trump
said.
Many Republican candidates for lower offices are concerned
about running on the same ballot as Donald Trump, who has alienated
minority voters through his rhetoric about building a wall with Mexico
and banning US entry to Muslim travellers.
Many Americans choose to vote for either the Democrat or Republican Party, rather than weighing the individual candidates.
Republican representatives fear that voters who oppose Trump may eschew the Republican Party all together.
Some
Republicans, including a former top adviser and speechwriter to Senator
McCain, have begun to openly call for the party to oppose the
presumptive nominee and to work to independently elect a conservative
candidate, such as Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, who has indicated that he
will not be supporting Trump.