Donald Trump Jr. unloads on Jeb Bush for quip about having kids who 'actually love me'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Donald Trump Jr. is unloading on former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for saying this week he has kids who “actually love me” – a comment interpreted as a jab at the president.
“Jeb! I love everything about my father,” Trump Jr. tweeted Thursday. “I love that he’s a fighter, I love that he has guts, I love that he’s President (all those things you’re not).”
The president’s oldest son also said of his father: “Also love that he learned enough about politics in a few weeks to dismantle you piece by piece despite it being your life’s work.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Yale Daily News published a story Wednesday about Bush’s appearance on campus this week where, according to the student newspaper, Bush said he returned home to children who “actually love me” after a disappointing finish in the 2016 primary in South Carolina.
It was after that primary that Bush dropped out of the race.
After Trump Jr. lashed out, a spokesman for Bush said the former Florida governor wasn't taking aim at the Trumps.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Governor Bush's comments were reported incorrectly. His comments were unrelated to the president or his family,” Bush spokesman Kristy Campbell told Fox News.
The Yale Daily News, though, reported that the comment was met with “raucous laughter from the crowd” and several audience members said they “interpreted Bush’s comment as a jab at Trump.”
Another Trump son, Eric Trump, also tweeted at Bush: “.@JebBush I actually love my father very much. #PleaseClap.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The “please clap” dig is in reference to video that went viral during the campaign of Bush asking a New Hampshire audience to applaud him – something critics used to illustrate the less-than-enthusiastic response his campaign received.
Trump and Bush famously sparred during the campaign, with the then-New York businessman dismissing Bush as “low energy.” Bush argued Trump would be a “chaos” president. Bush did not endorse or support Trump in the general election.
TRUMP BACKS GEORGE P. BUSH, JEB’S SON, IN TEXAS POLITICAL RACE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Both Bush and Trump are the patriarchs of large families.
Bush has three children - George P. Bush, 41; Jeb Bush Jr., 34; and Noelle Bush, 40. Just last month, the president endorsed George P. Bush – the only prominent member of the family to support him in the general election – in his race for Texas land commissioner.
Trump has five children. In addition to 40-year-old Don Jr. and 34-year-old Eric, there’s Ivanka Trump, 36; Tiffany Trump, 24, and Barron Trump, 12. Ivanka, and her husband Jared Kushner, both work as White House advisers.