Cheney: Jeb has to ‘earn’ GOP nomination

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said on Monday that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would have to work like other Republican presidential candidates to earn his party’s nomination for 2016.

“Jeb’s a good man; I thought he was a good governor of Florida,” Cheney told USA Today. 

Still, when asked Cheney declined to endorse Bush, saying that Bush would have to “earn” the GOP nomination. According to the report,  Cheney said, “He’s got to go out and earn it, the same as anybody else does.”

{mosads}Cheney, 74, who served as vice president under George W. Bush and Defense Secretary under George H.W. Bush, acknowledged on “CBS This Morning” that he’s fielded some calls from presidential candidates.

“One of the good things is we have a lot of good candidates on the Republican side,” Cheney said on CBS alongside his daughter, political commentator Liz Cheney, to promote their new book, “Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America.” 

“In all seriousness, we’ve decided that we’re not going to endorse anybody in this race,” Liz Cheney said during the interview, noting the pair were focused for now on national security.

“We make the case that it’s an urgent set of issues the next president has got to address.”

Jeb Bush is currently lagging behind mouthy mogul Donald Trump in several national polls. He has also struggled to gain traction in Iowa, the first caucus state, while facing major competition in New Hampshire, the first primary state.

This story was edited at 8:57 p.m. to correctly reflect Cheney’s stated view on a possible Jeb Bush nomination.