Jeb Bush appears to be doing to his best to not squander the rare glimpse of goodwill shown to him by Republican presidential rival Donald Trump this week and is returning the favor by reaffirming his pledge to support the party's nominee and applauding Trump for running as a right-wing Republican.
"Trump’s views are evolving, at least, towards the right place," Bush reportedly offered during an interview on Fox Sports 1's "Countdown to Kickoff" today.
When host Clay Travis asked the former Florida governor if he would support Democrat Hillary Clinton if Trump were to become the Republican presidential nominee, Bush referred to his earlier GOP loyalty pledge and reaffirmed his allegiance whichever eventual nominee.
"I’m a conservative, I know Hillary isn’t. That’s one thing we know for sure. It’s not to say that she’s not capable of being president, but I think her world view is not the right one. And Trump’s views are evolving, at least, towards the right place," he said, adding that Trump held "views in the past that clearly put him right in the middle of the Democratic Party and now he’s transforming himself into something different."
Bush's tone on Trump is markedly gentler than normal on the campaign trail, even crediting the blustery former reality TV star with boosting interest in the Republican presidential primary.
"I’ll give him credit for one big thing, which is really important: 25 million people watched the first debate and 23 million watched the second, and that’s extraordinary. Those numbers are a lot to do with him and the interest that he’s brought to the campaign," he said during the interview.
Bush's new attitude towards Trump comes after the frontrunner defended Bush's comments in support of the Washington Redskins not changing their name.
“Honestly, I don’t think they should change the name, unless the owner wanted to,” Trump said on Monday after Bush came under fire for similar comments last week.
"I know Indians that are extremely proud of that name," he said. "They think it's a positive."
Let's see how long this latest peace treaty lasts on the campaign trail, after all, this is how Bush responded to Trump's own pledge of loyalty to the Republican party only last month:
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