Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush challenged Republican front-runner Donald Trump to a one-on-one debate Monday.
Bush was speaking in Palm Beach when the moderator of the event asked him what he would say to Trump if the billionaire walked into the room.
“Donald, I’ll take you on one-on-one in a debate, any time, any place,” Bush said. “You name it and I’ll do it.”
Bush’s New Hampshire ads have showed him telling Trump he can’t insult his way to the presidency during the fifth Republican presidential debate. The two have increasingly mixed it up in the last few weeks.
What’s less clear is whether Trump would be willing to take Bush up on his challenge. Trump is over 30 points ahead of Bush in national polls. Bush trails him in every early primary or caucus state. Trump is second in the Washington Examiner‘s power rankings while Bush is fifth.
Trump has nevertheless helped himself by hitting the “low energy” Bush and the Republican establishment. Both Trump’s rise and Bush’s fall indicated the base’s anger at party leaders. Bush continues to hope that Trump will falter and primary voters will take a second look at proven political leaders.
