Jeb! Bush is working overtime to show that he’s a tough guy who can stand up to Donald Trump, but it continues to fall flat. Flat like, popcorn is not the right food for watching this spectacle. You’re going to need some pancakes. Maybe extra-thin crepes. See, Jeb’s campaign is out with a new ad (video below) dedicated to the premise that Donald Trump is a “jerk.”
The ad specifically focuses on Trump’s mockery of a reporter who has a disability, and Jeb’s response that Trump is a jerk, and Jeb having dinner with a boy with cerebral palsy to show his support for people with disabilities.
“I think life is truly a gift from God, and we’re all equal under God’s watchful eye — that’s what I believe,” Bush says. “And when anybody — anybody — disparages people with disabilities, it sets me off. That’s why I called him a jerk. What kind of person would you want to have in the presidency that does that? What point do we say enough of this? Let’s start solving problems.”
Who is this ad supposed to appeal to? Trump supporters are apparently just fine with his mockery of disabilities, which should come as no surprise, because Trump supporters. Conventional wisdom has it that Bush is in most direct competition with Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and John Kasich for votes, but is there reason to believe that one of those men’s supporters will come flocking to this message?
And … jerk? It’s not inaccurate, but if I recall correctly, that’s an insult that lost its shock value somewhere around third grade. Then, Jeb’s “I’m being daring with my language here” tone and the idea that when something “sets [him] off” he lets loose with “jerk” do not exactly stand up well against Trump’s level of dominant bluster. It’s not that you want all politicians to be Trump-esque, heaven knows, but maybe Jeb could seem a little less like the kid who, three days later, in front of adult witnesses, works up the nerve to say to the bully “Oh, yeah? Well, you’re a … a … a jerk! That’s what you are” and then goes trembling off into the corner, unable to believe his own nerve.
Comments are closed on this story.