Confident Bush vows to ‘whoop’ Clinton in election

by Jonathan Swan - 12/03/15 5:13 PM ET

Jeb Bush says he will “whoop” Hillary Clinton if given the chance to be the Republican nominee for president.

“Should I win this nomination I will take it to Hillary Clinton and I will whoop her,” said Bush, speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Thursday in Washington D.C.

Although his campaign speeches have been marred with uncertainty and stumbling over words, Bush presented a confident performance Thursday, playing to a friendly crowd that cheered when the former Florida governor mentioned his brother, former President George W. Bush. Likewise, his parents, former President George H.W. and Barbara Bush, were crowd favorites.

{mosads}Bush said that if elected president, on “Day one” he will move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, ensure Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge is maintained for the long run, and work with the U.S. attorney general to stop the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in the United States.

He said he would use aggressive U.S. military leadership in the region, marshaling Sunni Arab armies, and building safe zones inside Syria.

A Bush presidency would not involve “red lines” or “reset buttons,” he added, referring to President Obama’s failed promise on Syria and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presentation to the Russians of a giant red button to herald a new beginning in the relationship.

“If you don’t have the humility to know what you don’t know you’re going to be a horrible president.”

Bush, who admits he struggles at phrasemaking, drew contrasts with smooth-talking politicians, saying he does not think a president “should speak with grandiosity unless it can be backed up.”

Bush said his father, who has not been well, has “stopped watching the CSI shows” since his son began running for president and is “now watching Fox.” He is “trying to figure out Donald Trump.”

Asked who he would appoint secretary of State, Bush dodged the question and told the audience that “the person I rely on most as it relates to U.S.-Israeli policy is my brother.”

It was a public admission of what Bush reportedly said privately to supporters six months ago. The governor has struggled to find the right balance between being loyal to his brother and rejecting the unpopular parts of his legacy. He took several attempts earlier in the year to say whether he would have authorized the Iraq invasion, and while he has used his brother to fundraise in recent months he continues to languish in single digits in both state and national polls.

“I’ve got a damn good brother,” Bush added to cheers and shouts of “Go Jeb!”

Tags Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Jeb Bush