SALEM, N.H. — Jeb Bush doesn’t appear to be threatening Donald Trump’s lead in New Hampshire, but Trump railed against Bush nonetheless on Monday, and said Bush is just a “spoiled child” who wouldn’t be able to get a job in the private sector.
“I watched television, the different shows this morning, and I watched this stiff, Jeb Bush — he’s a total stiff,” Trump told the audience. One man immediately shouted “2 percent,” presumably referring to Bush’s low national poll numbers.
“Here’s a guy … if he weren’t in government, you wouldn’t hire him to do anything. If you had a company, you wouldn’t even hire him,” he said. “He’s on every show like, ‘Donald Trump said this, Donald Trump said that,’ and then he goes, ‘See, I’m the only one taking on Donald Trump. I’m not afraid of Donald Trump.'”
“He’s like a child. He’s like a spoiled child,” Trump charged.
Hours before Trump’s Salem town hall, Bush told MSNBC he considers the New York businessman a “loser.”
“I mean the guy, he’s just a real estate guy. He’s gone bankrupt four times, he’s a successful man but not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, so why not confront him, challenge him?” said Bush.
Not one to tolerate criticism of his personal empire, Trump claimed Bush has gone “nowhere” despite spending a massive amount of money on his 2016 bid. “He spent $110 million on a campaign and he’s nowhere.”
“These are the kind of people we have in government. I mean, he’s an example of a large stiff. The last thing we need is another Bush,” Trump said.
Minutes later, upon being asked whether he would consider any of his current opponents for cabinet positions as president, the self-funded billionaire said Republicans have “a lot of good people running … except Jeb.”
“Jeb is a lightweight. I don’t have a lot of respect for Jeb,” he said.
A final CNN/WMUR survey of Republican voters released Friday suggests Trump (33 percent) will enter Tuesday’s primary with a 17-point edge over his opponents. Bush, meanwhile, was shown to be in fourth place at 7 percent support.
