Hialeah, Florida (CNN) Perhaps emboldened by the colorful, hometown atmosphere, a feisty Jeb Bush walked into a room full of supporters Monday, greeted by much more excitement than he's used to on the campaign trail, where he's struggling to break past the low single digits in the polls.

A diverse crowd was chanting his name as the smell of croquetas, a Cuban breakfast staple, filled the room and supporters sipped on café con leche.

The Republican presidential candidate held his first post-Christmas campaign event at a Cuban comfort food restaurant here called Chico's, where an amped-up crowd packed into the brick walls to cheer on their former governor.

Speaking in Spanish and English, Bush gave a brief speech of only 10 minutes — much of which was devoted to attacking his rivals in the presidential race.

"Donald Trump gets his foreign policy advice, congresswoman, from the shows," he said in English, turning to supporter Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. "He wakes up in his pajamas and watches the TV shows on Saturday and Sunday."

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