4 Republicans who say they'll now (reluctantly) back Trump
Donald Trump is now the presumptive Republican nominee, and some leaders of the party seemed to have reached the final stage of grief — acceptance. But it wasn’t always that way: Here are a few of Trump's new supporters who previously bashed the real estate mogul:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker:
On Wednesday afternoon, Walker — who is credited with helping Texas Sen. Ted Cruz pull off a big victory in Wisconsin by mobilizing the anti-Trump effort — said he would support the Republican nominee, according to Wisconsin Politics. While Walker has always maintained he'd support his party's nominee, his ringing endorsement of Cruz and efforts to defeat Trump in his state raised some doubt.
When the Wisconsin governor dropped out of the race for the nomination in September, he encouraged others to do the same so that there would be an alternative to Trump.
"I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner," Walker said in his speech. "This is fundamentally important to the future of our party, and, more important, the future of the country."
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Former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal:
Jindal said he’d vote for Donald Trump — but he’s “not happy about it” — in an interview with CNN Tuesday (hours before Cruz dropped out and Trump was officially declared the presumptive nominee) because he believes the real estate mogul is a better option than former secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"If he is the nominee, I will be voting for him, I will be supporting him,” Jindal said on CNN Newsroom. “I'm not happy about it. I don’t think he’s the best qualified candidate, I don’t think he’s the one most likely to be successful, but I would vote for him over Hillary Clinton."
But he didn’t have very kind words for Trump in September when they were competing for the Republican nomination. During a speech at the National Press Club, Jindal unleashed on Trump, comparing him to a carnival act and calling him a “narcissist and an egomaniac.”
"Donald Trump is dangerous. But not in the way you think. Many say he's dangerous because you wouldn’t want a hot head with his fingers on the nuclear codes. And while that's true, that's not the real danger here,” Jindal said. “The real danger is that, ironically, Donald Trump could destroy America's chance to be Great Again."
New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte
While Ayotte — who is in the middle of a competitive race to keep her Senate seat — has repeatedly said she’d support the Republican nominee, on Wednesday, according to New Hampshire station WMUR, Ayotte's office confirmed she'd be supporting Trump.
“As she's said from the beginning, Kelly plans to support the nominee,” a spokeswoman told WMUR, later adding that there were no plans for a candidate endorsement. "As a candidate herself, she hasn't and isn't planning to endorse anyone in this cycle."
Ayotte may be supporting Trump at the polls but this summer she didn’t “support” some of Trump’s actions.
“I don’t support what he has done and I don’t think that he will be our nominee so I don’t think I have to worry about supporting him,” Ayotte told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto when asked if she would support Trump if he was the nominee in July.
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer
On Tuesday night, the former press secretary for President George W. Bush announced he would be voting for Donald Trump, but just hours earlier he had been accusing Trump of lying about Iraq and getting away with it.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Bush's handling of Sept. 11 and the invasion of Iraq.
And this summer, Fleischer compared Trump to a car wreck: “Donald Trump is like watching a roadside accident,” Fleischer told POLITICO. “Everybody pulls over to see the mess. And Trump thinks that’s entertainment. But running for president is serious. And the risk for the party is he tarnishes everybody."