No love lost between these two. Political rivals Jeb Bush and Donald Trump took their feud to new levels on Monday, February 8, trading bitter insults via Twitter after their heated exchange at the GOP debate on February 6.
Trump, 69, threw the first virtual punch when he mocked Bush’s 30-second Super Bowl spot, which featured the candidate’s older brother, former President George W. Bush. According to ABC News, the ad was paid for by a Right to Rise crowdfunding campaign.
Jeb Bush has zero communication skills so he spent a fortune of special interest money on a Super Bowl ad. He is a weak candidate!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2016
Bush, 62, wasn’t about to take that lying down, so he dealt Trump a pretty harsh blow of his own.
.@realDonaldTrump, you aren’t just a loser, you are a liar and a whiner. John McCain is a hero. Over and out.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) February 8, 2016
The John McCain reference, of course, is a throwback to Trump’s diss of the Arizona senator last July. As reported at the time, the real estate mogul said 2008 GOP presidential nominee McCain was “not a war hero” and only got a reputation as one because he was captured. “I like people who weren’t captured,” he remarked.
Trump apparently didn’t take too kindly to Bush drudging up the past and calling him a whiner, so he proceeded to blast his rival in a series of tweets.
Jeb Bush is desperate – strongly in favor of #CommonCore and very weak on illegal immigration.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2016
Everybody is laughing at Jeb Bush-spent $100 million and is at bottom of pack. A pathetic figure!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2016
Now that Bush has wasted $120 million of special interest money on his failed campaign, he says he would end super PACs. Sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2016
The two also traded insults in separate TV interviews on Monday. Bush brought up Trump’s business record on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, saying, “The guy’s just a real estate guy. He’s gone bankrupt four times.” Asked to share the first word that came to his mind about the candidate, he replied, “Loser.”
Trump called in to the show a little later. “Jeb is an interesting duck,” he said. “Here’s the story on Jeb: He’s a stiff who you wouldn’t hire in private enterprise, OK? This is a stiff. This is a guy that if he came looking for a job, you’d say, ‘No thank you.’ And that’s the way it is.”
Trump and Bush have feuded throughout the ongoing 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination, including during the most recent GOP debate on Saturday.