‘Trump is a jerk,’ Bush tells New Hampshire voters

Video: Republican candidates Donald Trump and Jeb Bush trade blows over US Muslim ban plan

CONTOOCOOK, N.H. — Jeb Bush was halfway through a town-hall-style event Saturday morning when he paused, announcing he had something he wanted to get off his chest.

“Donald Trump is a jerk,” Bush said, seemingly unprompted, to applause.

“You cannot insult your way to the presidency,” he said. “You can’t disparage women, Hispanics, disabled people. Who is he kidding? This country is far better than that. The idea that he’s actually running for president and insulting people is deeply discouraging, to be honest with you, and I think we should reject that out of hand. I hope you’ll reject it by voting for me, but a guy like that should not be the front-running candidate of our great party.”

Finally finished, Bush exhaled with a laugh: “I gave myself therapy there,” he joked.

Therapy, maybe — but also a deliberate move by Bush, whose strategy to save his faltering campaign now involves attacking Trump, forcefully and frequently. The approach was on display in Tuesday evening’s Republican debate in Las Vegas, where Bush repeatedly needled Trump, seeming to irritate the real estate magnate.

Nonetheless, Bush still sits in single digits in the polls, and New Hampshire has become a must-win state for him, a place where he must beat, or at the very least tie, his rivals for the party’s more moderate base — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida — if he hopes to reinvigorate his campaign.

On Saturday, Bush made an explicit plea to the voters here, asking them for their support and for their active involvement in his campaign.

“I’m going to be up here a lot,” Bush said. “If I don’t get it today, I’m coming back next week. I’ll ask for it again. And I’m coming back the week after that and the week after that.”

Donald Trump, left, and Jeb Bush talk together following the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) Donald Trump, left, and Jeb Bush talk together following the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) Photo: John Locher, Associated Press Photo: John Locher, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close ‘Trump is a jerk,’ Bush tells New Hampshire voters 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Bush plans to compete seriously in New Hampshire, with a schedule that has him in the north of the state before Christmas, and back again for several days before New Year’s. New Hampshire is the second state to vote, on Feb. 9, eight days after the Iowa caucuses.

On Saturday, Bush packed his schedule with four town-hall-style meetings, intended to show his stamina and resolve. (He has still been unable to shake the “low-energy” stigma Trump put on at him this summer). A planned fifth event, in Dover, was canceled out of respect for a local Army Ranger who was killed in a training exercise and whose funeral was scheduled for the same time as the Bush event.

And the former Florida governor appeared determined to keep his focus on Trump.

“Donald Trump is a chaos candidate and he would be a chaos president,” he said, echoing a line from Tuesday’s debate. “Did you hear him talk about foreign policy in the debate?”

“I mean, it’s like he has no clue,” he added.