INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Jeb Bush Slammed For Poor Performance, Donald Trump Ridiculed As ‘Comic-Book’ Candidate As GOP Debate Live Keeps America Gripped

By Sandra Hajda
Published on: 00:51 PST, Oct 29, 2015

Jeb Bush, the brother of former U.S. President George W. Bush, who took America into Iraq and instigated the now-infamous “War On Terror” in the wake of the September 11 attacks (though he failed to capture Bin Laden — that honor went to successor Barack Obama almost a decade later) disappointed many with a lacklustre GOP debate, which saw Jeb Bush pitted against Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Marco Rubio.

Writers at Five Thirty Eight declared that “Jeb Bush is probably toast.” Business Insider were similarly scathing in the hours after the GOP debate, declaring “It was not a good night for Jeb Bush.”

Jeb Bush, regarded by some as the “establishment candidate” due to his pedigree (Jeb is the brother and son of Bush presidents, George W. Bush and George H. W Bush respectively) is double-digits behind Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Even fellow Floridian Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Jeb was expected to trump as an establishment candidate of similar but finer stock, is ahead of Jeb Bush.

Tweeters were unkind, with one declaring “cheering for Jeb Bush to fail is the one thing we have in common” as the GOP debate live sparked heated disagreement and live Twitter-wars, with supporters of Donald Trump, Rubio, and Carson butting heads as they defended their preferred candidates or clashed on the finer points of the GOP debate.

The GOP debate touched on ISIS, the Syrian crisis, tax cuts, Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and Jeb Bush’s approach to spending cuts.

It was not Donald Trump but Marco Rubio who was credited with dealing the struggling Jeb Bush with a presidential death blow.

Jeb Bush’s attack on Rubio was based on Rubio’s senatorial attendance record. Bush hinted that Rubio enjoys a lighter workload than Jeb Bush himself has committed to and questioned his former protege’s suitability for and commitment to the presidency (Jeb has compared his own apparently exhausting full-time campaign effort to that of veteran John McCain in 2008).

Rubio countered the attack, questioning his fellow Republican’s motives and attacking Hillary Clinton instead.

“We cannot elect Hillary Clinton,” Rubio declared, drawing cheers from the crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmYeT0ALGzo

Rubio’s strategy of attacking the bigger enemy — the probable Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton — instead of his opponents was a savvy one, and Rubio was generally hailed as the “winner” of the debate, trumping Trump, Carson, and the hapless Jeb Bush.

Jeb Bush has since taken to Twitter to attack Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, demonstrating that he has realized (perhaps a day too late) that Rubio was on the right track.

As for Donald Trump, he was dealt a loaded question that took aim at his roots in business and reality TV.

“Is this a comic book version of a campaign,” Trump was asked as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio looked on in amusement.

Trump, of course, said that it wasn’t. The verbally aggressive candidate added — some would say ironically — that he didn’t think it was a very “nicely asked question.”

Of course, Donald Trump’s reality TV roots and headline-grabbing personality worked in his favour when it came to gaining Twitter attention during the debate, which was live-tweeted by many. The Washington Post declared Trump “most tweetable” following the live GOP debate.

For his part, Jeb Bush has taken to Twitter and appeared to stay there for most of the day. Bush Junior kept the attacks against Hillary Clinton coming, evidently refusing to admit defeat despite a flurry of cruel tweets and headlines mocking the “Jeb Bush death spiral.”

Should Jeb Bush admit defeat? Did you watch the GOP debate? Let us know.

[Image by Getty Images]

Share this article: Jeb Bush Slammed For Poor Performance, Donald Trump Ridiculed As ‘Comic-Book’ Candidate As GOP Debate Live Keeps America Gripped
Jeb Bush
More from Inquisitr