Brownback welcomes Trump as candidate, probably won’t endorse him

Gov. Sam Brownback probably won’t be endorsing Donald Trump, but he said he welcomes the outspoken billionaire into the race for the Republican nomination for president.

“What you’ve got taking place is a big discussion with a lot of people – certainly on the Republican side – who are not satisfied with the direction of the country. Not happy,” Brownback said Friday. “And so you have 16 people I think now running for president … people saying, ‘I want to have a piece of that discussion,’ and that’s what he’s doing.”

“He seems to attract a lot more media attention than most of the field,” noted Brownback, who is close friends with several other candidates seeking the GOP nomination.

Trump’s candidacy has bothered some members of GOP establishment who fear he could boost the Democratic candidate in the general election, especially if he runs as a third party candidate.

Asked if he could see himself supporting Trump, Brownback gritted his teeth and replied, “That would be difficult.”

This week Trump gave out the phone number of fellow GOP contender U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in the senator’s home state of South Carolina.

The stunt was the real estate mogul and reality TV star’s response to Graham calling him a jackass after Trump disparaged the military record of U.S. Sen. John McCain, who survived five and half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.

Brownback said that he had not given Trump his cellphone number.

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Brownback welcomes Trump as candidate, probably won’t endorse him."