Jeb Bush Says Trump Uninformed Not A Serious Candidate

MIAMI (AP) — The Republican front-runner for the presidential nomination, Donald Trump, is not prepared to be the nation’s commander in chief, because he’s “uninformed” on major issues facing the U.S, especially defense and foreign affairs, rival Jeb Bush said on Sunday.

“I have great doubts about Donald Trump’s ability to be commander in chief,” Bush said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” ”If you listen to him talk, it’s kind of scary to be honest with you, because he’s not a serious candidate.”

Bush said Trump has offered conflicting opinions on his strategy to deal with Syria and the Islamic State group.

Trump “said we had no interest in being involved in Syria. And then he said let the Russians take out ISIS. And then he said let ISIS take out Assad. I just think he’s uninformed,” Bush said, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.

Bush’s criticism of Trump comes a day after the billionaire businessman campaigned in the former Florida governor’s home state and dismissed Bush as a serious challenger.

Trump told thousands at a rally in Sarasota, Florida, on Saturday that he would easily win the March 15 Florida primary because “I’m leading by a lot already.”

Bush said Trump’s campaign strategy is to “dominate the news” and that the media was going along with it. “He knows what he’s saying. He’s smart. He’s playing you guys like a fiddle, the press, by saying outrageous things and garnering attention.”

Asked whether he would support Trump if he wins the GOP nomination, Bush said he’s confident that the more voters “hear of him, the less likely he’s going to get the Republican nomination.”

Trump is “all over the map, misinformed at best and praying on people’s fears at worst,” Bush said.

GOP presidential candidate John Kasich, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” called Trump a “very divisive” candidate and, like Bush, predicted he would not be the eventual Republican nominee.

Other GOP presidential candidates also swiped at Trump.

On Fox News Sunday, Carly Fiorina said Trump’s game plan is to say something “insulting, offensive, outrageous,” so that the “media pays attention,” and then he “claims we all misunderstood him.”

“This is the pattern perhaps of an entertainer,” she said. “It’s certainly not a pattern of a leader.”

“Donald Trump only feels big when he’s trying to make everyone else look small,” she said. “Of course, in the end, he looks the smallest of all.”