Donald Trump Endorsement Could Be Coming From Leading Democrat

A new Donald Trump endorsement could be coming from one of the unlikeliest sources.

His controversial campaign has divided many Republicans from the GOP establishment to the point that it’s sort of a surprise when Republicans endorse the guy, let alone Democrats, but that may be what voters are now on the verge of seeing.

Word has it that, while he has not officially moved to endorse anyone, a leading Democrat may be on the verge of making his Donald Trump endorsement.

What’s even more puzzling is that this isn’t a Strom Thurmond “Dixiecrat” Democrat, but one who ran for president of the United States as early as this primary cycle.

That person is none other than Jim Webb, a Democratic senator from Virginia and Vietnam War veteran.

Webb recently appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and confessed that he “would not vote for Hillary Clinton.”

When moderators asked if that meant he would consider a Donald Trump endorsement, he said he “wasn’t sure yet.”

“I’m not supporting anybody right now, but no, I would not vote for Hillary Clinton,” he explained, adding that it was “nothing personal against Hillary Clinton.”

As for Trump, Webb theorized that “the reason that Donald Trump is getting so much support right now is not because of the ‘racists, etcetera, etcetera.’ It’s because a certain group of people are seeing him as the only one who has the courage to step forward and say, ‘We’ve got to clean up the stables of the American governmental system right now,’ and to say, ‘We’ve got to make it work.'”

He also acknowledged that if you vote for Donald Trump, you could be “getting something either very good or something very bad,” but added that if you vote for Hillary Clinton, you will be getting “the same thing” — as in, the same broken system — that Washington is today.

While that can hardly be called an official Donald Trump endorsement, it is important to note the language and mannerisms that Jim Webb expressed in this interview.

Would he vote for Hillary Clinton?

His answer was straightforward and unflinching — no, he would not.

Would he vote for Trump?

Hesitation. Then, a refusal to say whom he would vote for either way, before launching into the appeal of Donald Trump with words like “courage” and a rare Democratic defense of Trump’s often rowdy followers.

While it is unquestionably surprising that any current Democrat would “stump for Trump,” it’s not quite as surprising when you get into Webb’s storied and much-respected history.

He was a Vietnam vet and by many accounts a hero, thus showing a pro-military side common to Republicans. He first came into office in 1987, the tail end of President Ronald Reagan’s tenure.

While Reagan’s administration started to wane in the last couple of years, his terms were characterized by a spirit of bipartisanship that Webb was unquestionably able to experience before things went south.

As such, he is one of few Democrats in Washington open to working with the GOP. (Of course, the GOP — establishment GOP especially — isn’t too keen on working with Democrats either.)

It’s likely that Webb sees Trump’s formerly Democratic views and the wide cross-section of voters he is attracting as signs that the Donald may be just malleable enough to get Washington working again.

It is also worth mentioning that he started his career as a Republican before moving to Democrat in 2006. The relatively recent switch makes the possibility of a Donald Trump endorsement even more surprising since there is a sense in the trajectory of Webb’s career that he has been on both sides and subsequently lays blame at each’s doorstep.

If Webb does end up making that Donald Trump endorsement, the Inquisitr will let you know. But for now, his words and mannerisms speak volumes.

[Image via Flickr Creative Commons / Matt Johnson]