Jeb! Bush thinks he has his chance to earn the exclamation point in his campaign logo, and maybe pick up some polling support, by attacking Donald Trump. To be sure, Bush would need to pass several other candidates before he’d be Trump’s biggest competition in the polls, but he still thinks Trump is his chance:
“Going after Trump is tactically brilliant for Jeb,” said Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist and CNN commentator who supports Mr. Bush. “There are others on that stage who don’t agree with what Trump says or how he says it, but don’t have the guts to lay a glove on the guy for fear of antagonizing his supporters and incurring his wrath. Jeb has the lane all to himself.”
On Thursday, the “super PAC” supporting Mr. Bush released a new ad, “Tough Enough,” that opens with the words, “One candidate tough enough to take on the bully,” before cutting to an exchange between Mr. Bush and Mr. Trump from the debate.
Toughness. Guts. And, of course, seriousness—“serious” being the big thing Bush has repeatedly said Trump is not, as if Republican primary voters are most concerned with seriousness. (I mean, they elected Bush’s brother president, FFS.)
Bush hopes to exploit the fact that many Republican voters don’t like Donald Trump, but it’s not yet clear what his plan is to deal with the fact that many Republican voters don’t like Jeb Bush, either. Maybe he thinks when they get a load of his toughness and guts, they’ll change their minds?