Then, in November, when Trump said “thousands” of New Jersey Muslims celebrated the 9/11 attacks, a claim that has now been completely debunked, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, in a moment of uncharacteristic modesty, remarked, “I think if it had happened, I would remember it, but, you know, there could be things I forget, too.” Christie, it’s worth noting, has dubbed his travels through New Hampshire the “tell-it-like-it-is” tour.

But the spinelessness reached new heights this Sunday. On CBS’s Face the Nation, John Dickerson asked Bush about a statement by one of Bush’s advisers that Trump’s plan for registering Muslims is “fascist.” Bush ignored the question. Instead he called Trump “uninformed,” “wrong on Syria,” and “not a serious leader.” The strategy was clear: Avoid defending the rights of Muslim Americans, since there’s little market for that among GOP primary voters. Instead, call Trump a lightweight and insufficiently hawkish, and therefore somehow get to his right.

Dickerson then asked Jeb, “If [Trump] became the nominee, would you still support him?” Bush responded, “I have great doubts about Donald Trump’s ability to be commander in chief,” but “anybody is better than Hillary Clinton.” When Dickerson asked why “specifically” Trump is better than Clinton, Jeb ignored the question, declaring, “The more they hear of [Trump], the less likely it is he’s going to get the Republican nomination.”

On ABC’s This Week, John Kasich was even worse. Martha Raddatz began by asking the Ohio governor about an ad of his that “appears to compare Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Is that the comparison?” Of course it’s the comparison. The ad consists entirely of a paraphrase by Colonel Tom Moe of German Pastor Martin Niemoller’s famous statement that because he did not stand up for Hitler’s initial victims, there was ultimately no one left to stand up for him. Moe just substitutes Trump’s targets for Hitler’s.

Kasich’s answer was astonishing. Asked if he was comparing Trump to Hitler, he began by saying no. Then he distanced himself from his own ad. “This is Colonel Tom Moe,” Kasich explained. “He was a POW for five years in North Vietnam, was beaten and tortured, and came within an inch of losing his own life. And these are his words. He feels very strongly about a man who divides us.”

Perplexed, Raddatz interjected, “But it is your ad.” To which Kasich replied, “But it’s his words.” Evidently candidates are only responsible for the words in their advertisements that they utter themselves.

Raddatz then asked the obvious follow-up: Does the fact that you’re running an ad comparing Trump to Hitler “mean you would not support him if he were the nominee?”

Kasich refused to answer: “Well, he’s not going to be the nominee.”

Raddatz tried again: “But answer that question. You say he won’t get the nomination. But if he does, will you support him?”