News / Politics

Trump will not be nominee for US president: William Kristol

Saturday, 26 December 2015 9:48 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 27 December 2015 3:21 AM ]

Neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol during an interview with ABC News.

US neoconservative commentator William Kristol says leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will not be nominated by his party for the presidency of the United States.

Kristol, the founder and editor of the political magazine The Weekly Standard told ABC News that Trump will begin to fall behind his rivals if loses in the Iowa state primary elections.

“I don’t think Trump will be the nominee,” said Kristol, who is also the founder of the Emergency Committee for Israel, an American neoconservative group associated with the Israel lobby.

“Trump loses Iowa, the mystique disappears, he’s just another candidate – though perhaps a formidable one,” Kristol stated.

Trump will then be “beaten by either [Senator Marco] Rubio, [Senator Ted] Cruz or [New Jersey Governor Chris] Christie,” he added.

Trump currently trails Cruz by more than 3 percentage points in Iowa, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

Kristol also said former Florida Governor Jeb Bush “may be a little less dead than everyone thinks.”

“He needs to run ahead of Christie and [Ohio Gov. John] Kasich in Iowa, and then again in New Hampshire,” he said of Bush. “If he can do this, he stays in as the sober, experienced candidate against Trump, Cruz and Rubio.”

Republican candidates debate at University of Colorados Coors Events Center October 28, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. (AFP photo)

Trump continues to lead the crowded Republican field despite making controversial remarks against Mexican immigrants, women and Muslims.

Many observers say Trump’s appeal among many voters is largely because he comes from outside the political establishment and claims he is not influenced by lobby groups and wealthy individuals.

According to some reports, American neoconservatives have launched a “get Trump” campaign to prevent an "outsider" winning the White House.

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