Perry: Trump's campaign is a 'barking carnival act'

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WASHINGTON – Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry stuck to his guns Wednesday, taking another jab at what he calls the "barking carnival act" of his fellow Republican presidential contender Donald Trump in their ongoing feud.

"Let no one be mistaken -- Donald Trump's candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded," Perry said at a Washington forum for the Opportunity and Freedom PAC, an independent group that has raised nearly $17 million in support of his bid. His remarks came on the eve of Trump's visit to Laredo, where he plans to tour the border on Thursday.

The former Texas governor added a new insult to his growing repertoire of analogies for Trump's campaign: "Empty calories."

The bad blood began in June when Perry slammed the real estate tycoon's characterization of undocumented immigrants as criminals and rapists, making Perry one of the first in the GOP field to question whether Trump's views reflect the Republican Party, which has been trying to make inroads with Hispanics and other minorities.

Since then, Perry has coined the phrase "Trumpism" for his opponent's campaign, which he described as "a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense." At Wednesday's forum, Perry reopened fire on Trump for his remark attacking the war record of Republican Sen. John McCain, a former Navy pilot and POW.

"[Trump] breathes the free air thousands of heroes died protecting," Perry said, firing back. "And he couldn't have endured for five minutes what John McCain endured for five and a half years."

The cross words come as Trump has taken a double-digit lead in some polls. Meanwhile, Perry has registered support in the single digits, leaving him in danger of disqualification for the opening Republican presidential debate August 6. Talking to reporters after the forum, Perry minimized the importance of the debate in Cleveland.

"I'm not concerned about being on the stage," he said. "What I'm focused on is spending time in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina."

The forum of Perry supporters included former Dallas state representative Kenneth George, who highlighted the importance of the Hispanic vote in the 2016 elections. Trump also came under fire in the forum.

"Donald Trump provides actually an opportunity for Republicans," said Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership. "It can hurt the Republican party if Republicans remain quiet. Let [Trump] be on stage in the debate, but let's isolate him by denouncing forcefully what he's saying."

The Perry campaign also released a video of Trump's previous compliments about the former Texas governor, which can be viewed above.