Tag: 2016 GOP Primary

Walker Quits; Encourages Others to Quit, too

Buck Banks

I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same, so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front-runner.

— Gov. Scott Walker, quoted by the New York Times, suggesting other GOP candidates drop their White House bids as he did.

Carson Apologizes for Provoking Trump’s Insults

Buck Banks

I said something that sounded like I was questioning his faith. I really wasn’t. I was really talking more about mine. But it was said in an inappropriate way, which I recognized, and I apologized for that. It’s never my intention to impugn other people.

— Ben Carson, demonstrating how his “approach to handling Donald Trump’s insults is different from every other 2016 Republican presidential candidate’s: He apologizes for provoking them,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Rick Perry Has No Campaign Personnel in New Hampshire

Buck Banks

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Number of campaign representatives Rick Perry has in New Hampshire, WMUR reports. Veteran strategist Michael Dennehy said that “while he still considers himself a strong supporter of the Republican presidential candidate, he no longer considers himself an advisor to the campaign. He said he has not been paid by the campaign since June and has not heard from Perry or anyone from Perry’s national campaign for the past month.”

Cruz-Trump Bromance is Mostly One-Sided

Buck Banks

According to people close to the Trump campaign, the relationship has been driven almost entirely by Cruz. The Texas senator has sought Trump out on numerous occasions, both before and after the mogul jumped into the 2016 race… Trump has welcomed the exchanges and meetings, his people said, but he does not see them as especially necessary or helpful to him. Instead, he views Cruz as a useful, friendly face who appreciates him and whom he is happy to be chummy with on debate stages.

— The Washington Post, on the unusual relationship between Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Perry Campaign Down to One Staffer in Iowa

Buck Banks

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Number of staff left on the Rick Perry campaign in Iowa: “The Republican from Texas has whittled his staff in Iowa to one paid operative amid continuing fund-raising struggles … Mr. Perry led in the polls for a stretch during his first presidential bid four years ago. He spent significant time boning up on foreign policy and getting himself in physical shape for the grinds of the campaign trail,” the New York Times reports.

Jeb Bush Has Genetic Foot-in-Mouth Problem

Buck Banks

Jeb Bush established his inheritance of the family trait earlier this year, with his kick-off foreign policy speech. He confused Iraq for Iran, said Islamic State had 200,000 fighters instead of 20,000, and referred to the Islamic State leader as ‘the guy that’s the supreme leader, whatever his new title is, head of the caliphate.’ He said immigration should be ‘a catalytic converter for sustained economic growth.’ … But Jeb Bush’s slips tend to be different from those of his kin. His are more Freudian, involving accidental truths.

— Dana Millbank in the Washington Post.