Headline of the day

Headline of the day

by digby

He's Baaaack!

by digby


On Thursday night, Mr. Trump said he was just fine with Mr. Bush’s activities. “I like that he’s helping certain Republicans,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Mr. Bush’s brother “had a great chance to beat me” and did not.

Mr. Bush’s effort to help down-ballot candidates fill their campaign coffers underscores how fissures in the Republican Party are affecting fund-raising. The senators are not receiving any fund-raising help from Mr. Trump, a typical role for the party’s standard-bearer. And few congressional candidates have sought Mr. Trump’s endorsement, given his high negative ratings in polls and unpredictable nature.

The support from Mr. Bush also reflects his rising standing. He was toxic to his own party in the final years of his presidency and left the White House deeply unpopular after two wars and a financial collapse that plunged the nation into recession.

Few candidates were clamoring for his help. Outside of helping his brother and his nephew, George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner, and his friend Ed Gillespie in a Virginia Senate race, Mr. Bush has largely stayed away from campaigns since returning to Texas in 2009, writing only a handful of personal checks for candidates who visited his Dallas office.

But 47 percent of people nationally view him favorably now, according to a February poll from Quinnipiac University. (Mr. Trump’s favorability was at 31 percent in a June 15 national poll from Bloomberg Politics.)

Further, Mr. Bush is highly popular among Republicans, especially the party elites who are big campaign donors. The hosts listed on the invitations for the fund-raisers for Mr. McCain and Mr. Blunt include some of the country’s leading Republican contributors who have recoiled from Mr. Trump’s candidacy.


My God, how desperate can they be?