Donald Trump said he can understand how the Bush family feels, amid reports that former President George H.W. Bush said he plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in the general election.

“Well, he didn’t say that, but I wouldn’t be surprised,” Mr. Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, told TWC News in North Carolina, where he was campaigning on Tuesday.

“I mean, look — I fought his son very hard. It was a very tough battle — Jeb. And Jeb lost. He was expected to win. He was expected to be the nominee. He lost,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the former Florida governor and former 2016 Republican presidential rival.

“We’re leading all over and we seem to be doing very well, but I fought him and it was a very nasty contest. It was very nasty, and I can understand that,” he said.

“Frankly, if I were him, maybe I’d go that direction, too,” Mr. Trump said.

“Look, Jeb Bush signed a pledge. He didn’t honor the pledge, and they say it was a very nasty contest and certainly it was,” Mr. Trump said, referring to a pledge the GOP candidates took to support the eventual nominee.

“By the way, most of them do support me. Ben Carson and Chris Christie and most of them support me,” he said. “They’ve come through, and they really support me big league.”

“But Jeb Bush didn’t, and I can understand how the Bush family feels,” he said. “He was supposed to win. He was supposed to be the nominee. And not only he wasn’t the nominee, but he didn’t do very well.”

Former President George W. Bush, Jeb Bush’s brother and the son of the 41st president, has largely stayed out of the political fray since leaving office in 2009, although he did campaign for his brother in South Carolina during the GOP primary contest.

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