Why has Jeb Bush begun arguing with Donald Trump?
Jeb Bush would probably prefer to ignore Donald Trump. Why exchange taunts with an electoral distraction? Let The Donald engage with all those single-digit poll folks 鈥� the lower tiers of the big Republican presidential field. That could prevent any of them from rising to challenge Mr. Bush鈥檚 status as the establishment choice/putative serious front-runner.
But Bush is hitting back at Mr. Trump, at long last. He鈥檚 charging that the real estate mogul isn鈥檛 a conservative, and maybe isn鈥檛 really a Republican at all. Bush flew to the southern United States border on Monday to highlight his differences with Trump on immigration. Trump鈥檚 anti-immigration plans are 鈥渦nrealistic," said the former Florida governor.
鈥淗e needs to be held to account for his views,鈥� said Bush.
Why the change in tone? Long story short, Bush has little choice.
Who's the front-runner?聽Bush鈥檚 original nomination strategy hasn鈥檛 worked out. He wanted to be Hillary Clinton 鈥� someone who cleared the field early by showing overwhelming strength. Remember how he elbowed Mitt Romney away from running again? How he boasted early and often about the money he鈥檇 raised?
Bush鈥檚 primary target 鈥� key party figures and top elected Republicans 鈥� remained unimpressed. The establishment hasn鈥檛 really rallied behind him. He hasn鈥檛 attracted many endorsements, for instance. Look at this list compiled by 鈥� he leads the GOP field, but not by much. He鈥檚 got only a fraction of the number of endorsements Hillary Clinton has attracted.
He鈥檚 not yet a candidate of the second tier. But he can see it from where he鈥檚 standing.
Bush is rusty.聽Going in, everybody in politics knew Bush鈥檚 last name would present a strategic problem. Even his mom pointed out that the public might still be suffering from Bush fatigue. Trump is gleeful on this point: He鈥檚 posted citing the 鈥渨e鈥檝e had enough Bushes鈥� Barbara Bush quote. Yes, she鈥檚 publicly retracted that 鈥� do you think that would stop Trump鈥檚 jibing?
What his consultants hadn鈥檛 counted on was this: Bush has been out of electoral politics for awhile. His last election was the Florida gubernatorial contest of 2002. He鈥檚 out of practice. His campaign skills are rusty. That鈥檚 part of the reason why he鈥檚 been sucked into unproductive disputes, such as the question of whether 鈥渁nchor baby鈥� is an offensive term.
While discussing that question, Bush on Monday made another error, asserting that the real 鈥渁nchor baby鈥� problem lies with Asian birth tourism. It鈥檚 true that birth tourism is a real problem that US immigration authorities want to eliminate. But why needlessly identify another fast-growing ethnicity as a problem?
鈥淧erhaps it is still early enough in this campaign that these stumbles indicate a steep learning curve and Jeb will eventually get his footing. But if he really does want to take on Donald Trump directly, this is certainly not how that鈥檚 done,鈥� writes Nancy LeTourneau at the Washington Monthly鈥檚 .
Trump as troll.聽But the main reason Bush has been forced into a confrontation with Trump may be that Trump has centered much of his campaign on personal disputes. On Monday night, he renewed his Twitter attacks on Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, for example. He鈥檚 attacked Rick Perry for his glasses, called Lindsey Graham 鈥渁 total lightweight," and said Bush was 鈥渁 low energy person."
He鈥檚 perhaps a troll, in the Twitter sense: someone who issues deliberately provocative messages to elicit a response.
Sometimes it鈥檚 best to ignore the troll. But if the troll is blocking your passage over the bridge, sometimes you need to address the troll. Particularly if it is leading in early polls.
Trump鈥檚 not going away. His support comes from all across the GOP political and demographic spectrum and appears solid enough to last for months. The media may be starting to take him more seriously. Perhaps the Bush campaign is, too.
