“I don’t think Donald Trump is serious,” Jeb Bush said. | Getty Bush: Trump is playing the media 'like a fine Stradivarius violin'

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Jeb Bush mocked Donald Trump on Tuesday, dismissing the billionaire's proposed ban on Muslims immigrants as a proposal that would only help Hillary Clinton win the general election.

Following a 45-minute town-hall-style meeting with voters at a law firm here that focused mostly on national security, Bush appeared before roughly two dozen reporters to denounce the GOP front-runner following Trump’s call Monday for preventing Muslims from entering the country from abroad.


“I don’t think Donald Trump is serious,” Bush said. “We live in a serious time — we need real leadership. All this helps his buddy Hillary Clinton for sure. In our fight against Islamic terrorism, we have to maintain our values. And what he proposed is not a serious proposition.”

The former Florida governor came ready to tee off on Trump in the wake of the furor surrounding the billionaire’s proposal. He mentioned Trump by name only once in the town hall but scheduled a press availability afterwards — a scrum that was guaranteed to focus almost exclusively on Trump’s controversial plan. Bush asserted that Trump’s proposal was a play for attention, telling members of the media, “He’s playing you guys like a fine Stradivarius violin.”

“This is what he does,” Bush said. “He’s an expert at this. He’s phenomenal at garnering attention. This campaign should be about the big ideas that we need to implement to fix the things that are broken in our country and to restore America’s leadership in the world.”

Instead, Bush said, Trump has “divided the country.”

Bush used the opportunity to compare Trump to President Barack Obama, pointing to similarities in how they attempt to divide voters for political gain.

“We’ve had a president that organized all of his skills to do the exact same thing in a different way,” said Bush. “And we need to have someone who’s capable of being president of the United States that tries to lift people’s spirits.”

Bush dodged questions about whether he would support Trump if he won the GOP nomination next year, telling reporters repeatedly that Trump is “not going to be the nominee.”

“Republicans are going to nominate someone who can beat Hillary Clinton and actually serve in a way to keep us safe,” said Bush. “And I just don’t believe Republicans are going to buy into this language that guarantees that Hillary Clinton has a far better chance of winning.”

The event came during a New Hampshire swing aimed at bolstering Bush’s struggling candidacy in a state that’s critical to his fortunes. Despite a significant spending advantage, Bush is at roughly 5 percent in national polls. In New Hampshire, Bush is running slightly stronger – averaging 7.5 percent here in the polls CNN will use to determine eligibility for next week’s televised debate – but still trails Trump and four other candidates: Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Ted Cruz.

Asked by a reporter if he would drop out of the race to stop Trump, Bush asserted: “I’m running to win.”

“This election will look a lot different when we’re gathered back together after Christmas, and when we’re gathered in the second and third week of January,” he said. “It’s going to be different. It always is different.”