Rick Perry drops out of GOP race, bashes Donald Trump tactics
Rick Perry, the former Texas governor dropped his second bid for the White House on Friday, the first of the 17 GOP candidates present in the two-part debate a month ago.
“Today, I am suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States,” Perry said in an address in St. Louis that virtually mirrored his standard stump speech until the very end. “Life is good. I am a blessed man.”
Perry repeatedly jabbed at Donald Trump’s campaign-trail controversies without using his name.
“Demeaning people of Hispanic heritage is not just ignorant, it betrays the example of Christ,” Perry said, according to his prepared remarks. “We can enforce our laws and our borders, and we can love all who live within our borders, without betraying our values.”
“It is time to elevate our debate from divisive name-calling, from sound bites without solutions, and start discussing how we will make the country better for all if a conservative is elected president,” Perry said, bashing “celebrity” presidential candidates during his exit speech.
Perry implored his supporters in an email to back a candidate who embodies the principles of conservatism.
“The conservative movement has always been about principles, not personalities,” Perry said, before making a not-too-veiled swipe at Donald Trump, the GOP’s current front-runner. “Our nominee should embody those principles. He — or she — must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity.”
“For me, the message has always been greater than the man,” he said in his prepared remarks. “The conservative movement has always been about principles, not personalities. Our nominee should embody those principles. He — or she — must make the case for the cause of conservatism more than the cause of their own celebrity.”
Trump responded to Perry’s departure by praising the former governor:
.@GovernorPerry is a terrific guy and I wish him well- I know he will have a great future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2015
Fellow GOP candidate, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he donated to The Lone Survivor Foundation and the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, two of Perry’s favorite charities, and praised Perry.
The entire GOP field was unquestionably made stronger by the experience & wisdom @GovernorPerry brought to the racehttps://t.co/IR5amYIHv7
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 12, 2015
The two presidential candidates from Florida, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, chimed in as well.
He raised only about $1 million in the first fundraising quarter, and he never had enough supporters for him to earn a spot in the premier GOP debates.
[…] Rick Perry drops out of GOP race, bashes Donald Trump tactics […]
[…] Rick Perry, the former Texas governor dropped his second bid for the White House on Friday, the first of the 17 GOP candidates present in the two-part debate a month ago. […]