Jeb Bush has been trying to jab Donald Trump for weeks; in debates, on the stump, in ads, and on billboards. If there’s a kitchen sink somewhere, it probably has a “Jeb!” sticker on it. And he’d almost certainly fling it the Donald’s way if he could.
On Wednesday morning, Trump stuck out his chin.
The suddenly shaky frontrunner for the GOP nomination said Ted Cruz “stole” victory in the Iowa Republican Caucus, accusing the Texas senator of fraud. He charged that the Iowa results should be nullified, in part, because Cruz misrepresented Trump’s position on health care. Quite a request.
It’s the exact type of brazen statement that is part of Trump’s messaging arsenal. It’s also the type of comment that Bush is urging voters to tune out.
“Turn off Trump,” he responded to the real estate mogul’s diatribe through Twitter Wednesday, linking to his new web advertisement of the same name.
The two-minute video features some of Trump’s more notorious outbursts playing on an old tube television: his line that he could shoot someone on a New York City street and not lose a single vote, his snide remark about Sen. John McCain’s capture in Vietnam, his mockery of a disabled reporter, and his criticism of Carly Fiorina’s physical appearance. The ad then cuts to footage of Bush at a public event criticizing Trump’s tactics.
“I’m sick and tired of politicians that find ways to disparage people to make themselves look strong,” the former Florida governor says. “It is not strong to insult women. It is not a sign of strength when you say that a POW is a loser because they got caught. John McCain is a hero. It is not a sign of strength disparaging the disabled in this country. It is not. It is a sign of deep insecurity and weakness.”
Bush has used this argument against Trump for weeks, and in higher-profile media. “You can’t insult your way to the presidency,” he told Trump in a December debate. But such challenges haven’t earned Bush more support. His polling in Iowa remained flat throughout January, and he garnered only 3 percent of the vote on caucus day. He’s trying to make a stand in New Hampshire, where he’s polled consistently above 8 percent in recent weeks — but also has been part of a five-candidate pack running an average of 20 points behind Trump.
Polls might not mean much when candidates are separated by just a handful of points, as Iowa proved yet again. But such a substantial deficit implies that Bush needs a dramatic rally to compete, particularly considering that his competition includes Cruz and Marco Rubio.
A jab alone won’t get it done. But it could set up a haymaker, if Bush has one to throw in Saturday night’s debate or elsewhere between now and next Tuesday.
