Long-shot presidential contender Will Hurd said Donald Trump, his rival for the Republican nomination, is only running to avoid prison as he urged the party to confront the frontrunner over his three criminal indictments.
(Bloomberg) — Long-shot presidential contender Will Hurd said Donald Trump, his rival for the Republican nomination, is only running to avoid prison as he urged the party to confront the frontrunner over his three criminal indictments.
“He’s a bully, he’s a liar. And he’s only running in order to stay out of prison,” Hurd told Bloomberg Radio’s “Sound On” Thursday.
“Any one of these charges is prison time,” Hurd said. “He ain’t going to be able to survive prison. This is what he cares about. Not the future of this country. Not the people who voted for him. And definitely not Americans.”
Hurd spoke hours before Trump was set to appear in federal court in Washington to face charges he conspired to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election.
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Hurd has been a vocal critic of Trump, who holds a commanding lead over the rest of the GOP field in the 2024 primary. Hurd was booed at the Lincoln Dinner — a gathering of Republican candidates in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday — where he was one of the few to assail Trump.
Most of the field has avoided directly criticizing Trump over his criminal cases, including his chief rival for the nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“You don’t beat an opponent by kissing his butt or licking his boots,” Hurd said Thursday. “Otherwise you’re just running to be his vice president or to be in his administration.”
Hurd, a former US congressman from Texas, conceded he’s a “dark horse” in the race but is trying to qualify for the first Republican debate in Milwaukee later this month to confront Trump to face-to-face. Trump has threatened to skip the debate.
Earlier: Hurd Says DeSantis Wrong to Double Down on Slavery Curriculum
Hurd said Trump’s baggage was making it difficult for Republican presidential candidates to talk about issues, including Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of the US credit rating, artificial intelligence and China’s global ambitions.
Earlier Thursday, Trump took a swipe at Hurd on social media, saying the former congressman “couldn’t get elected dog catcher,” and is constantly “spewing nonsense, despite the fact he is at ZERO in the Polls, and with no money or future.”
Hurd took Trump’s statement as a vindication of his campaign.
“It’s not a bad thing,” he said. “You know you’re getting under his skin.”
–With assistance from Joe Mathieu.
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