WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush''s campaignhas looked into whether it is possible to withdraw a pledge to support theeventual nominee if it is Donald Trump, a senior Bush aide said on Thursday,in a sign of the deep enmity between the two.
The development came to light after Bush and Trump engaged in bitterexchanges at the last Republican debate of the year on Tuesday night in LasVegas.
Last week in New Hampshire, Bush insisted he would not need to withdraw hissupport for the nominee because he did not believe Trump would win the 2016Republican presidential nomination.
Behind the scenes, top aides have looked into whether Bush would stillqualify to be on the ballots in all 50 states because some states require aloyalty pledge in order to be on the ballot.
A driving factor behind the move was Trump''s proposal to ban all Muslimsfrom entering the United States, a step that Bush denounced to Trump''s faceat the debate.
"We received lots of questions following Donald Trump’s most recentunhinged proposal so our campaign did due diligence looking into the rulessurrounding the pledge," said a senior Bush aide who spoke on condition ofanonymity.
Still, Bush has not moved to declare he would not support Trump if he winsthe nomination fight.
"Governor Bush made explicitly clear on Tuesday his view that Donald Trumpwould be a chaos president who would be wrong for the country. Voters knowwhere he stands. His focus is on defeating him in the primary," the aidesaid.
Trump has said he does not want Bush''s endorsement.
Trump, the front-runner in national polls of Republican voters and leadingin some of the early voting states, has taunted Bush all year.
Bush fought back with gusto at the debate, and the well-funded Super PACthat supports him, Right To Rise, released a television ad on Thursday thatdescribed the former Florida governor as "the one candidate tough enough totake on the bully." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqpK4NVuIV4&feature=youtu.be)
It is to air in Iowa, which holds the first nominating contest of the 2016election on Feb. 1, as well as the two next states to hold contests, NewHampshire and South Carolina.
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