by David Knowles
\nBloombergPolitics<\/p>\n
For Republican front-runner Donald Trump, simply beating Jeb Bush in one poll after the next is not nearly enough. Instead, what the billionaire has in mind for the establishment candidate of choice is wholesale humiliation and mockery the likes of which has scarcely ever been witnessed in a primary election. His poll numbers suffering, Bush\u00a0has been drawn into the fight, but has yet to engage Trump with the same\u00a0relish that his nemesis\u00a0takes in attacking him.<\/p>\n
Here’s a look back a few of the recent rounds fought between the two men atop the GOP field.<\/p>\n
Mother knows best?<\/h2>\n
Trump’s latest provocation, an Instagram assault that employs Bush’s own mother as its messenger, hits at the former Florida governor’s central vulnerability in succinct package so effective that other Republican candidates must be scratching their head and thinking “why didn”t my people think of that?”<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nSo far, Bush’s team has yet to directly respond to the inevitable looping\u00a0of the former first lady’s words declaring “we’ve had enough Bushes” in the White House despite the fact that Barbara Bush later reversed herself and said of her son’s likely run,\u00a0\u201cour problems are so profound that America needs a leader who can renew the promise of this great nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The black hand<\/h2>\n
On Aug. 22,\u00a0Trump ridiculed Bush on Twitter over a Photoshop fail on a campaign mailer sent out by Right to Rise, the super-PAC supporting Bush, that appeared to show his rival with a hand that might have really belonged to an African American.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhile Bush’s campaign again remained mum, his supporters pointed out that the hand in question really did belong to their candidate.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe damage had been done, however, as\u00a0the clumsy lifting and repurposing of Bush’s image\u00a0only proved The Donald’s point, black hand or no.<\/p>\n
Jeb Bush … DOYYY!<\/h2>\n
Trump’s attacks on Bush are sharp, mean, and, yes, sometimes funny, but Bush’s supporters have begun to realize that the candidate\u00a0can’t always turn the other cheek. On Friday, Trump revved up a crowd in Alabama by knocking the Bush brand,\u00a0starting off that attack by simply letting that famous last name do all the heavy lifting.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cJeb Bush \u2026 DOYYY!\u201d he said derisively\u00a0to the amusement of his fans.<\/p>\n
[youtube_sc url= http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=78U6paqj7kI&w=560&h=315]<\/p>\n
After painting Bush, who has by far most successful Republican fundraiser in the field so far, as being in the pocket of those who have filled his campaign coffers, Trump lowered the boom with a hypothetical.<\/p>\n
“Who would you rather have negotiating with China, Japan, Mexico, any of them: Trump or Bush?” the billionaire asked,\u00a0giving his fans the opportunity to wave their Trump signs and scream out their disgust with the villain he had conjured.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a small plane rented by Bush’s super-PAC flew overhead dragging a message that read, “TRUMP 4 HIGHER TAXES, BUSH 4 PREZ”.<\/p>\n
Anchor babies<\/h2>\n
Another clash on Friday between the two men took place on Twitter\u00a0over the use of the term “anchor babies” to describe the children of undocumented immigrants born in the United States. Trump suggested\u00a0a repeal of the 14th amendment<\/a> in an\u00a0immigration proposal released on Aug. 16. While Bush initially said he opposed Trump’s plan, a day later he used the term “anchor babies” when vowing to tighten enforcement of existing laws that he said encouraged immigrants to come to the U.S. That gave Trump his opening.<\/p>\n This time, Bush fired back directly.<\/p>\n What distinguishes Trump’s constant attacks on Bush from those, say, that Rand Paul or Carly Fiorina routinely level on Hillary Clinton, is how much joy the real estate developer seems to take in launching them.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what’s happening to Jeb’s crowd right down the street?\u201d Trump taunted Bush at a New Hampshire town hall<\/a>\u00a0. \u201cThey’re sleeping now.\u201d<\/p>\n Twenty miles away from where Trump spoke to 2,000 wildly enthusiastic supporters, Bush held his much more sedate town hall before a crowd of roughly 150 people, and began testing out his uncomfortable new strategy of firing back.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a Democrat longer than he was a Republican,\u201d Bush told his audience, many of whom said they had not yet decided who to support in the primary. \u201cHe’s given more money to Democrats than he has to Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Trump likened himself to Ronald Reagan<\/a> over the weekend in that he, like the Gipper, has become more conservative with age, he has showed no inclination to follow Reagan’s 11th commandment. While that edict forbidding one Republicans from speaking ill of one another may have kept the other GOP candidates from landing blows against Bush in the early months of the race, Trump has upended the contest by, as many of his fans have gushed, “telling it like it is<\/a>.”<\/p>\n The strategy has worked wonders. As the latest Reuters\/Ipsos poll <\/a>found, Trump’s lead over the field\u00a0has grown. He now leads Bush, his closest competitor, by a margin of 32\u201416 percent.<\/p>\n What’s more, ditching Reagan’s dictum in favor of Trump theatrics has been great for ratings, and that seems to have left\u00a0Republican party\u00a0unwilling to stand up for the son and brother of two former Republican presidents.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is a positive for our party,” Republican National Committee chairmanReince Priebus said over the weekend of Trump’s tactics<\/a>. “When you have 30 million people watching, not to mention the fact that we have 16 other incredible candidates out there I think we are showing America that we are the young, diverse party, offering a whole slew of options for people and that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fight Club Donald Trump Takes Trolling Jeb Bush to the Next Level So far, the head-to-head battle between the two Republican candidates has been fairly one-sided. by David Knowles BloombergPolitics For Republican front-runner Donald Trump, simply beating Jeb Bush in … Continue reading <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMind the enthusiasm gap<\/h2>\n
The upshot<\/h2>\n