As Jeb Bush’s campaign considers whether to bring former President George W. Bush out on the campaign trail, it’s clear that Jeb Bush is ready to be the Bush in the spotlight, even if he has a little help from family.
While Bush was meeting with voters Tuesday night following a town hall in Ankeny, Iowa, he met a little boy, Conrad, and his older brother. Conrad, with the help of his mom, had asked a question in town hall about the debt, but apparently his older brother didn’t get to ask his question, the boys revealed to Bush after the event.
“You know big brothers always have to defer once in a while,” Bush told the young boys. “But ultimately big brothers are still big brothers. You know what I mean?”
It was an illuminating moment and perhaps a bit of foreshadowing as the former president potentially prepares to hit the pavement for his younger brother, who campaigned heavily for the former president when he was governor of Florida.
When asked later by CNN about Bush’s comment on deferring to brothers, Bush signaled that he’s ready to take the mantle.
“I did that for a long while,” Bush said playfully. “Not anymore.”
Bush also helped out his father’s presidential campaigns, telling an audience in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale on Wednesday morning that he did 75 events for his dad in Iowa. Last week in Hilton Head, South Carolina, he talked about how he’s been campaigning for his father since was 11. “So I’m like 800 years old in political — it’s like dog years,” he joked.
It’s not certain when and where Bush 43 might hit the trail. Jeb Bush said in an editorial board meeting with the Des Moines Register on Tuesday that his campaign was working on it.
As the former Florida governor finds himself low in the polls, an appearance by the former president, whose favorability numbers among Republicans have soared in recent years, could help generate some buzz for Jeb Bush ahead of the primaries and caucuses.
“I think he’ll do it if it fits his schedule. He’s been a big help,” Bush said. “We’re working on that right now. I don’t know.”