Donald Trump’s presidential campaign slogan is “Make America Great Again!” — but Jeb Bush says Trump’s campaign is all about himself.
“Here’s a guy, larger than life, it’s all about him,” Bush said of the GOP presidential front-runner during a speech in Norfolk, Va. on Friday, according to The Washington Times.
“I wake up thinking, ‘Wow, people are really struggling and suffering,’” Bush said. “That’s what I focus on, that’s what I think about: How do we make sure that people can be lifted up?”
{mosads}“For him, it’s all about him,” he added of Trump. “He’s tapped into this anger and angst that Washington’s not working. I totally get it.”
Bush’s remarks come as Trump leads the race for the GOP’s presidential nomination next year in national polls.
The former Florida governor argued Friday that the political establishment ignores Trump at its own peril, given the outspoken billionaire’s recent success.
“This is a guy who’s the front-runner,” Bush said. “He should be treated like a front-runner, not as some kind of alternative universe to the political system.”
“And if that’s the case, you’re [going to have] a different conversation about Mr. Trump,” he added.
Bush said he plans to best Trump for the GOP’s presidential nomination by exposing the business mogul as a false conservative.
“I respect the fact that people are supporting him for legitimate reasons of anger about the dysfunction in Washington,” he said.
“But when they hear about what his views are, the cost of building, you know, the whole immigration deal, it’s not a conservative proposal he’s making,” Bush said of Trump’s official immigration plan.
“It’s going to cost hundreds of billions of dollars, violate civil liberties, challenge our freedom in so many ways,” he added. “Let’s have a debate about the ideas that people have as candidates, and when we do, I think I’ll do a lot better than Mr. Trump.”
Trump has repeatedly argued that Bush’s support is fading because he is “low-energy” and cannot overcome his family’s political legacy. Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, and his brother, George W. Bush, have both previously held the presidency.