Presumptive nominee Donald Trump slammed conservative Bill Kristol in a Tuesday press conference, saying the neoconservative figurehead and his allies will “look like fools” if they announce an independent anti-Trump candidate.
After Kristol said Sunday he had found an “impressive” independent candidate with a “real chance” of challenging Trump, the billionaire called the Weekly Standard editor “not a smart person” with “no credibility” that the media somehow still puts on television.
“If they do an indie, assuming it’s decent – which I don’t think anybody with a reputation would do it because they’d look like fools – what you’re going do is you lose the election for the Republicans and, therefore, you lose the Supreme Court,” Trump said. “Let me tell you, these people are losers.”
He also reminded reporters of Kristol’s long history of making bad predictions about his candidacy, telling reporters, “I actually blame you. Why do you put this guy on television?”
“[Kristol] said I won’t run. If I run, I won’t do well. He looks like such a fool. I saw him on one show and he’s practically crying because he can’t justify it,” he continued.
After the presser, Kristol tweeted that while his record is mixed, he’s no “roaring jackass.”
I gather Donald Trump said I’m a loser. I’ve won some and I’ve lost some, but one thing I’ve always tried not to be is a roaring jackass.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 31, 2016
This post has been updated.