WASHINGTON — After insisting that enough damage had been done and swearing off future insults toward Jeb Bush, Donald Trump on Friday returned to badgering his favorite presidential foe.
In the fallout of CNN’s Republican debate in Las Vegas, Trump has once again taken up needling the former Florida governor. Bush, eager to energize his sagging campaign, brought the fight to Trump on the debate stage, repeatedly talking over the billionaire as the pair tangled.
“I have an idea for @JebBush whose campaign is a disaster. Try using your last name & don’t be ashamed of it!” he tweeted Friday.
“.@JebBush has embarrassed himself & his family with his incompetent campaign for President. He should remain true to himself,” he said in a series of tweets a few hours later. “The last thing our country needs is another BUSH! Dumb as a rock!”
As Bush’s campaign has languished, Trump has repeatedly said that he is tired of talking about him, preferring to criticize other candidates who pose more immediate threats to his campaign.
Bush has recently been more willing to talk about Trump, projecting himself as a serious alternative to the GOP front-runner while calling the real estate mogul a “bully” who needs to be confronted. On Thursday, Bush told CNN’s John Berman that the approval Trump received from Vladimir Putin this week was a nod that he himself would not have wanted to receive.
“Donald is upset that Jeb got the best of him on Tuesday night at the debate and has been the one person to stand-up to his un-American praise of Vladimir Putin,” Bush communications director Tim Miller said in response to Trump’s Twitter tirade.
