Republican presidential candidate
Jeb Bush says Republican front-runner Donald Trump is “uninformed” and unfit for the presidency.
MIAMI — The Republican front-runner for the presidential nomination, Donald Trump, is not prepared to be the nation’s commander in chief because he’s “uninformed” on major issues facing the U.S, especially in terms of defense and foreign affairs, his opponent Jeb Bush said Sunday.
“I have great doubts about Donald Trump’s ability to be commander in chief,” Bush said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “If you listen to him talk, it’s kind of scary, to be honest with you, because he’s not a serious candidate.”
Bush said Trump has offered conflicting strategies on dealing with Syria and the Islamic State group.
Trump “said we had no interest in being involved in Syria. And then he said let the Russians take out ISIS. And then he said let ISIS take out Assad. I just think he’s uninformed,” Bush said, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
Bush’s criticism of Trump comes a day after the billionaire businessman campaigned in the former Florida governor’s home state and dismissed Bush as a serious challenger.
Trump told thousands at a rally in Sarasota, Fla., on Saturday that he would easily win the March 15 Florida primary because “I’m leading by a lot already.”
Bush said that Trump’s campaign strategy is to “dominate the news” and that the media was going along with it. “He knows what he’s saying. He’s smart. He’s playing you guys like a fiddle, the press, by saying outrageous things and garnering attention.”
Asked whether he would support Trump if he wins the GOP nomination, Bush said he’s confident that the more voters “hear of him, the less likely he’s going to get the Republican nomination.”
Other GOP presidential candidates also swiped at Trump on Sunday.
John Kasich, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” called Trump a “very divisive” candidate and, like Bush, predicted he would not be the eventual Republican nominee.
On “Fox News Sunday,” Carly Fiorina said Trump’s game plan is to say something “insulting, offensive, outrageous” so that the “media pays attention” and then claim “we all misunderstood him.”
“This is the pattern perhaps of an entertainer,” she said. “It’s certainly not a pattern of a leader.”