Jeb Bush compares Trump to Obama

Jeb Bush denounced Donald Trump at a Tuesday campaign stop in Iowa, calling the real estate mogul’s rhetoric “divisive” and arguing that Republicans won’t win elections by “striking fear in people’s hearts.”

“On our side there are people that prey on people’s fears and their angst as well,” the former Florida governor said at a stop in Council Bluffs.

{mosads}“I don’t know about you, but I think it is wrong,” he added. “I believe we need to unify our country. We need to stop tearing — separating ourselves by race and ethnicity and income.

“We need to focus on the things that tie us together, and whether it’s Donald Trump or Barack Obama, their rhetoric of divisiveness is wrong,” Bush continued.

“A Republican will never win by striking fear in people’s hearts. A Republican can win, and will win, if we have an aspirational message that gives people hope that their lives will be better when we apply conservative principles the right way,” Bush said.

The comments directed at Trump are the toughest from Bush so far against his surprise rival, who leads the field in a poll released earlier on Tuesday by Suffolk University/USA Today.

Observers of the race, including “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough, have been urging Bush to take off the gloves against Trump. Scarborough argued this week that Trump represented an opportunity for Bush, who he argued should go on the attack.

Bush has been a frequent target of Trump, who called his stance on immigration reform “baby stuff” and said that Bush’s position on the issue has likely been influenced by his wife, who is from Mexico.

Bush has also criticized Trump, including his remarks last month that some immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are criminals and rapists. The former Florida governor has called the comments “extraordinarily ugly” and said they were meant to “inflame and incite.”

Trump’s remarks have ignited a firestorm of controversy that has in part helped propel him to the top of the polls in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

However, several of Trump’s business partners have cut ties with him over the remarks, and some Republicans are worried he could damage the party’s brand at a time when the GOP is focused on minority outreach.