Donald Trump, Bill Kristol trade jabs on Twitter over possible independent candidate

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last updated 31 May 2016

Donald Trump spent his Memorial Day weekend the same way he spent every other day this year: fighting on Twitter.

This time, his target was The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol. The kerfuffle started Sunday, when Kristol tweeted, "Just a heads up over this holiday weekend: There will be an independent candidate — an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance." Trump wasted no time responding with an insult for Kristol wrapped in a piece of advice for Republicans. "Bill Kristol has been wrong for 2yrs — an embarrassed loser, but if the GOP can't control their own, then they are not a party. Be tough, R's!" He later tweeted, "The Republican Party has to be smart & strong if it wants to win in November. Can't allow lightweights to set up a spoiler Indie candidate!" And this:

Kristol is a leader of the #NeverTrump movement, and he told CNN on Monday morning he couldn't spill any more details on the alleged independent candidate because there are "still lots of I's to dot and T's to cross." On Monday evening, a clearly pleased-with-himself Kristol tweeted: "I'm traveling, so hadn't realized I'd so upset @realDonaldTrump. I'm sorry the mere mention of an independent candidate has so unnerved him." He then got in one more jab: "I hope my mention of an independent candidate didn't distract him while paying respects during whichever Memorial Day ceremony he attended." Trump hasn't responded to Kristol's latest tweets, having already moved on to a new opponent: Judge Gonzalo Curiel, "the totally biased" judge in his Trump University case.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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