Jeb Bush’s campaign manager argued Thursday that the one-time front-runner is still poised to win the Republican nomination despite his low poll numbers because “conventional wisdom” has proven wrong throughout the primary.
“Political conventional wisdom hasn’t been right yet, and I don’t think it’s right in this instance,” Danny Diaz, Bush’s campaign manager, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.” “The reality is this: two-thirds of voters haven’t made a decision, they won’t make a decision until the final week, 25% of New Hampshire voters don’t make a decision until the final day.”
Bush has fallen precipitously since the summer, despite entering the Republican race with a fundraising advantage and the status as the presumptive nominee. The political conventional wisdom at that time was quickly turned on its head by the rapid rise of businessman Donald Trump.
In the latest CNN/ORC national Republican poll, released at the start of the month, Bush stood at 3% support and Trump had 36% support. An ABC News/Washington Post poll released this week had Trump at 38% and Bush with 5% support.
Diaz said Bush proved during Tuesday night’s Republican debate that he was best positioned to both topple Trump and become the next president.
“Gov. Bush demonstrated on Tuesday night that he’s the guy that’s ready to be president of the United States, he’s the guy that’s ready to stand up to Donald Trump and challenge the totally un-serious, nonsensical and ridiculous things that he says,” Diaz told CNN. “The other candidates were watching as Gov. Bush laid out why he can and will be the next president of the United States and why Donald Trump would be an absolute disaster for both the country and the Republican Party.”
Diaz said Bush thinks President Barack Obama is an example of someone who made for a better “performer” than president, a cautionary tale fo 2016.
“He looks at the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and sees that we have a performer, a performer who hasn’t delivered,” Diaz said. “You look on this debate stage and you see a reality TV celebrity, you see U.S. senators who haven’t done anything other than file amendments and give floor speeches; a lot of performers and a lot of actors, a lot of talk, a lot of showmanship, but very little accomplishment, very little leadership.”