The Bush family has had an undeniable impact on modern American politics. Remember, we're talking about a family that has given the United States two Presidents, to say nothing of other prominent figures.
That's why it shouldn't surprise anyone to hear George P. Bush—a Texas land commissioner and son of former Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Jeb Bush, nephew of former President George W. Bush and grandson of former President George H.W. Bush—is trying to unseat current Texas Attorney General and Donald Trump devotee Ken Paxton in a primary challenge.
Ultimately, however, only one of them could receive the ex-President's endorsement.
Hint: it wasn't Bush.
On Monday, Trump released a statement in support of Paxton which read, in part:
"Attorney General Ken Paxton has been bravely on the front line in the fight for Texas, and America, against the vicious and very dangerous Radical Left Democrats, and the foolish and unsuspecting RINOs that are destroying our Country... Ken has my Complete and Total Endorsement for another term as Attorney General of Texas. He is a true Texan who will keep Texas safe–and will never let you down!"
After all the overtures from George P. Bush, Trump gives his "complete and total endorsement" to incumbent Texas AG Ken Paxton.pic.twitter.com/QfQbRdHKq8— Andrew Solender (@Andrew Solender) 1627344393
Oooh, an endorsement! But stop and think about this for a second from Bush's perspective.
It truly blows.
Both Bush and Paxton are members of the current guard of Trumpian Republicans. For instance, both backed Trump's Big Lie about the 2020 general election being stolen, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Paxton has been front and center of the GOP's attempts to overturn the election results in Texas. But Bush even went so far as to distance himself from his own family by ignoring Trump's attacks on his father, mother, uncle, grandfather and grandmother. He even earned Trump's praise in the process.
It's been said "if you lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas." And Bush is definitely in need of some flea treatment.
As you can imagine, he's become the target of significant mockery.
Donald Trump just endorsed incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) over the GOP primary challenger, George P. Bush\u2014who sold out his own family to kiss Trump\u2019s ass. No hero in this tale, just a reminder that there\u2019s no honor among thieves\u2014and a deal with the devil can backfire.https://twitter.com/georgepbush/status/1414714553372487698\u00a0\u2026— Larry Sabato (@Larry Sabato) 1627346019
George P. Bush sold out his whole goddamn family and bought-in to supporting Trump 100% only for Trump to turn around and endorse his opponent.— Charlotte Clymer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Charlotte Clymer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1627350773
MeidasTouch has released an official statement on Trump's endorsement of Ken Paxton over George P. Bush for Texas AG:pic.twitter.com/eWuQYEnbAj— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch.com) 1627349781
George P. Bush betrayed his whole family by groveling before Trump, who just endorsed \u2014 wait for it \u2014 his opponent: forced birth extremist Ken Paxton\n\nLMAO\n\nAww Georgie, haven\u2019t you learned? There\u2019s no honor among thieves— Lindy Li (@Lindy Li) 1627351951
.@georgepbush sucked-up to Trump like a human vacuum cleaner. He was so far up Trump\u2019s (insert choice of orifice here), all you could see were the soles of his shoes. Yet, Trump toyed with him and passed him over in favor of a dude who\u2019s indicted & under several investigations.https://twitter.com/rickklein/status/1419809031565238277\u00a0\u2026— Ana Navarro-C\u00e1rdenas (@Ana Navarro-C\u00e1rdenas) 1627420584
Nothing is sweeter to a malignant narcissist. George P. Bush, betrayed his family to grovel at Trump\u2019s feet and\u2026.he endorsed his rival Ken Paxton. Motto: Selling your soul to the devil doesn\u2019t pay— Duty To Warn \ud83d\udd09 (@Duty To Warn \ud83d\udd09) 1627383189
It's clear Bush's overtures did not succeed.
That's sad.
It also makes the fact he still has a photograph of him and Trump pinned at the top of his Twitter profile even sadder.
The left\u2019s out of control policies are eroding the fabric of our nation. It was great to see Pres. Trump today & discuss how we must come together as a party to restore America First Priorities. I appreciate his friendship & kind words as we work together to Keep America Great.pic.twitter.com/pEMuCUOCBi— George P. Bush (@George P. Bush) 1626129208
We wish we could say Texas will be in... um... good hands, but Paxton has been indicted for securities fraud and is under investigation by the FBI over donor dealings.
Sooo... yay?
Better luck next time, George. Probably time to crawl back home to the family and repent while you're at it.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter