At a townhall rally in Derry, New Hampshire, billionaire candidate Donald Trump compared his presidential campaign to that of establishment candidate Jeb Bush, hosting a meeting about 20 miles away.
“Right down the road we have Jeb,” Trump said as his supporters booed.
“Very small crowd,” Trump continued, noting there were overflow crowds at his event. “You know what’s happening to Jeb’s crowd, as you know right down the street? They’re sleeping!”
Trump wasn’t far off. As Governor Jeb Bush went on the attack against Trump, there was silence from the crowd gathered at a VFW post in Merrimack, N.H., aside from a smattering of chuckles after Bush mentioned Trump’s name.
“You can mention his name,” Bush said as one questioner stumbled while trying to cautiously bring up a question about the billionaire candidate roiling the Republican field.
Jeb’s attack line? Repeating the phrase “proven conservative” five times in less than 30 seconds.
“I think what people are eventually going to vote for is a proven conservative leader that’s done it, not talked about it, that’s actually done it. And I have a proven conservative record, consistent, proven conservative record. When no one was watching, long time, proven conservative record. Mr Trump doesn’t have a proven conservative record,” Bush said, pointing out that Trump was once a Democrat who had “talent” but didn’t have a conservative record.
Aside from criticizing Trump’s record, Bush also gingerly criticized Trump’s plan on immigration.
“Even on immigration, look, the language is pretty vitriolic for sure,” Bush said, throwing up his hands in the air, insisting that Bush’s plan would cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
But at Trump’s event, a pumping rock soundtrack played him on stage as his supporters cheered and applauded.
When Trump brought up Jeb Bush, the crowd cheered Trump as members of the crowd shouted “You’re fired!”
“I love these rowdy crowds isn’t it great?” Trump replied. “There’s spirit.”
Trump reminded the audience that Jeb Bush was “going down like a rock” thanks to his “dumb” positions on illegal immigration, reminding them of his “act of love” comments.
After another supporter bellowed out something about Bush, Trump replied, “My Group. These are my people!” as the audience cheered again.
“I don’t mind if you shout out,” he added. “Be careful of your language, because you’re on about seven live broadcasts tonight.”
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