Former Republican presidential candidate and former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who previously endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio when Rubio was running for president, argued that GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is “no conservative,” but that it’s “ironic” that Trump’s rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz is attacking him when Cruz was “as recently as December, saying positive things about Donald Trump” on Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN Newsroom.”
Jindal said that that day’s tiff between Cruz and Trump made him think “Why aren’t there other choices?”
He added, “I think it’s ironic, Ted Cruz was one of the last people to continue to embrace him, to defend him as recently as December, saying positive things about Donald Trump. So I think it’s ironic, he’s now the last candidate to actually go after Donald Trump, now that Donald trump stands between him and the nomination.”
Jindal further stated, “Donald Trump’s no conservative, but I think that is actually one of the reasons, Brooke, he’s doing so well. We conservatives have a job to do. We’ve got to go back and do a better job of explaining our beliefs and our principles to the voters.”
Jindal elaborated that he doesn’t think Trump will do “a lot of the things he has said he’s going to do.” And “I don’t think he’s a conservative at heart. He has been for big government. He’s been for, for example, a government takeover of healthcare, then he’s been against it. The reality is is that, I don’t think he’s opposed to big government. I think he just wants to be the one running big government. I do think he’ll be better than Hillary Clinton. I don’t think it’s a great set of choices. I think there’s 0% chance that Hillary Clinton would put a conservative on the Supreme Court. I’m not here telling you it’ll be 100% Donald Trump would, but at least there’s a chance. And so, look, I think that a lot of the criticisms that Marco Rubio made, that Ted Cruz and others made, that I’ve made about Donald Trump are true, but I also think he has done a good job understanding that voters, they haven’t seen their incomes go up. They’re worried about illegal immigration. They’re worried about America’s standing on the world stage. They’ve been left behind by the elites in DC. They’re mad at President Obama’s policies, but they’re also mad at the Republican leadership’s policies. He’s done a good job of understanding that. We conservatives have to do a better job explaining why our principles will help Americans join the middle class.”
He further said that while Trump will “have the hardest time beating Hillary of all the Republican candidates,” he will support Trump if he’s the nominee because, “I think at least there’s a chance he would get rid of Obamacare. I think there’s 0% chance that Hillary Clinton would do that. … I’m not happy about it. I don’t think he’s the best qualified candidate. I don’t think he’s most — the one most likely to be successful, but I would vote for him over Hillary Clinton.”
Jindal concluded “[R]egardless of today’s outcomes, I do think it’s more and more likely that Donald Trump will be my party’s nominee, but I think Ted Cruz has every right if he wants to take this all the way through the process, he’s got every right to do that.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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