Bush focuses on terrorism, economy in Florida speech
Presidential candidate also challenged Donald Trump to a debate
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jeb Bush emphasized terrorism and the economy during a speech to home-state civic leaders and supporters Monday, but he couldn’t escape the long shadow of Donald Trump.
Bush, the former Florida governor, spoke at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches — just a few miles from one of Trump’s resorts, the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. If Trump walked into the venue, an audience member wondered, what would Bush say.
Bush responded with a challenge: “I’d say, ‘Donald I’ll take you one-on-one in debate. Any time. Any place. You name it, I’ll do it.’ ”
At the beginning of 2015, Bush was widely considered the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. At year’s end, he’s far behind Trump, the billionaire real estate investor whose presence was felt several times during Monday’s appearance.
When another audience member wondered who among the pack of Republican presidential candidates was the funniest, Bush said the comedy champs are former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
“They both are pretty funny,” Bush said before adding: “You thought I was going to say somebody else.”
Bush said the U.S. needs to stand up to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and he brought up Trump. “Donald Trump may like Vladimir Putin because he (Putin) praised him (Trump). ... The best thing you can do with Trump is say something nice about him. He immediately thinks you’re a wonderful person.”
Bush raced through his 15-minute speech, which had three broad themes: The U.S. needs to do a better job at combating the Islamic State and the military needs to be built up; the U.S. economy needs to be improved through growth, which he said would come from changing the tax laws and reducing government regulation; and, he said, life is “a gift from God.”
He called the Islamic State “the threat of our time. We need serious leadership to destroy the threat.”
“I promise you, should I be the president of the United States, I’ll be a commander in chief — not a divider in chief, not an agitator in chief — someone that will respect the military and provide the necessary support so we can get back to peace through strength.”
He reminded the crowd that he was a conservative, tough-on-spending governor when he led Florida from 1999 to 2007.