Bill Kristol would back third party over Trump

Bill Kristol, the conservative pundit and editor of The Weekly Standard, said Tuesday that he would vote for a third-party candidate if Donald Trump is the Republican presidential nominee.

“I doubt I’d support Donald,” he said in an email, according to CNN Money. “I doubt I’d support the Democrat [nominee].

{mosads}“I think I’d support getting someone good on the ballot as a third party candidate,” he added.

Kristol’s admission comes as Trump leads the race for next year’s GOP presidential coronation across multiple national polls.

Trump ranks first out of 16 Republican White House hopefuls with 29.8 percent, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of samplings.

Kristol revealed on Tuesday that he believes former Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are a much more attractive option for voters in 2016.

“[It] would be an excellent independent ticket,” he said of that pairing.

Kristol is a vocal critic of Trump and argues the outspoken billionaire could not defeat the Democratic presidential front-runner in a general election next year.

Trump responded by mocking Kristol’s publication in a tweet earlier this summer.

“Bill, your small and slightly failing magazine will be a giant success when you finally back Trump,” the real estate tycoon wrote on July 23. “Country will soar!”

Trump earlier this year suggested he could launch a third-party bid if the Republican National Committee (RNC) mistreats him.

Trump offered the RNC an olive branch earlier this month by pledging he would not employ that tactic upon losing the party’s primary next election cycle.

“I will totally be pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party and the conservative principles to which it stands,” he said upon signing a pact to that effect on Sept. 3.

“I see no circumstances in which I would tear up that pledge,” Trump added when asked about possibly reversing course on his promise.