Immigration Reform News: Jeb Bush Embraces Eric Cantor Endorsement As Trump Fends Off His Nazi And KKK Supporters

Virginia Republican Eric Cantor has endorsed Jeb Bush for president. “ Kiss Of Death ,” the Breitbart news website called it. “Who wants the endorsement of a guy [...] who lost in perhaps the greatest upset in the history of Congress?” Donald Trump tweeted . The ultra-right wing of the GOP has spoken. But why does former Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor stir such a passionate reaction? It’s all about immigration. For vanguards of right, Cantor represents the inevitable exorcism from pro-immigrant policies from the party platform.

That great upset that Trump is referring to happened in 2014 when Eric Cantor was an incumbent congressman and Speaker of the House. Despite outspending his opponent 20 to 1 he lost the race to politically unknown Republican primary challenger David Brat. Some pundits argued that immigration hurt Cantor and may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Others pointed out that he was really unpopular . It’s impossible to measure exactly, but anti-immigration activists columnist Ann Coulter holds up Cantor’s and other 2014 Congressional defeats as a Republican referendum on comprehensive immigration reform : be an Eric Cantor and the base will defeat you.

Jeb Bush supports comprehensive immigration reform, and is probably the most pro-immigrant GOP candidate in the field. He supports conditional legal status for the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally. He also supports and increase in temporary worker visas a position that the partisan ends of the bell curve of both parties criticize for being pro-business and anti-worker. One big difference between him and Eric Cantor? Bush running for president of the politically and culturally diverse U.S.A., not a congressional seat in Virginia’s most conservative district. One big difference between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump? Bush has endorsements from U.S. Senators, Congressman and former presidents (Bush and Bush).

Now-Congressman Brat called Trump “a brother-in-arms when it comes to stopping illegal immigration,” though that was in April of 2015, before Trump declared his run, so it’s not quite an endorsement. Some of Trump’s most notable endorsements have been unwanted support from Neo-Nazis , as well as former Klu Klux Klan leader David Duke. Trump politely said that he doesn’t need or want endorsements from those or any other groups. Last week, Ann Coulter stumped for Trump at a campaign event. And while she’s doesn’t talk about bloodlines and purity as much as the average American Nazi, she’s a highly xenophobic choice to address what is supposed to be a national audience. That alliance had us asking ourselves if Trump is even serious about winning his presidential race. And just what does Trump think about his white-supremacist supporters, NBC asked earlier this week?

"A lot of people like me," Trump said.

Who would want an Eric Cantor endorsement? Probably not someone running for congress or trying to be elected grand master of anything. But someone seriously running for president could probably use the help.