Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush will receive more help from his family in South Carolina, as the former Florida governor accidentally announced that his mother and former first lady, Barbara Bush, will campaign for his White House bid on Thursday ahead of the early voting state's primary.
Talking to reporters after a campaign event in Columbia on Tuesday, Bush alluded to his mother returning to the campaign trail to the unknowing press gaggle. "That's not announced yet?" Bush said to his spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell, CNN reported.
Campbell smoothed it over, saying, "It will be announced." She added: "Thursday, she's coming in Thursday night and she's staying until the primary."
"I blew it," Bush quipped. "Always here to help."
This will make for the second state where Barbara Bush has been dispatched ahead of a primary. Earlier this month, the former first lady drew large crowds in New Hampshire before the nation's first presidential primary.
"I didn't really plan on this," Barbara told a crowd in Derry, N.H., NPR reported. "But Jeb is the nicest, wisest, most caring, loyal, disciplined," she said, adding, "Not by me!" when the audience laughed. "He's decent and honest. He's everything we need as a president," she said.
Barbara joining the campaign trail in support of her son is a sharp turn from her position a few years ago, as names began floating as possible candidates. On the Today Show in 2013, she told host Matt Lauer that she didn't want him to run, saying, "I think it's a great country, there are a lot of great families, and it's not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we've had enough Bushes," according to The New York Times.
Former president George W. Bush, who has always enjoyed high popularity in South Carolina, campaigned for his brother on Monday, touting him as a candidate who is antithetical to the bombastic style of Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
"I understand that Americans are angry and frustrated but we do not need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration," the former president said, according to NJ.com. "We need someone that can fix the problems that cause our anger and frustration, and that's Jeb Bush."
In recent polling, Trump leads in South Carolina and Bush is in fifth place in the six-person Republican field. In an average of recent polls compiled by RealClear Politics, Trump has 36.3 percent support, with Ted Cruz in second with 17.8 percent support. Bush, who is only ahead of Ben Carson, has 9.3 percent support.
