Rep. Kinzinger: ‘I think Jeb’s the guy’
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), among the first Republicans to endorse Jeb Bush for president in 2016, acknowledged on Monday that Bush has so far been unable to rout front-runner Donald Trump.
{mosads}”Is it a start? Probably. Has it been overly effective? Maybe not yet. But I think Jeb’s the guy,” Kinzinger said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” while discussing Bush’s recent attacks on Trump.
“He looks dull and joyless and awkward,” former Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) interjected on his show, referring to Bush, a perception that Kinzinger rejected.
The hawkish Republican referred to Bush’s performance in the first GOP debate, which pundits viewed unfavorably, to highlight the former Florida governor’s efforts on education.
“We saw a piece of Jeb that I think he needs to bring out and I think he’s going to,” he said.
Trump is leading the GOP field by double digits, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has ticked past Bush — who has fallen dramatically with Trump’s surge — in the RealClearPolitics polling average.
“Right now, Donald Trump is sucking all of the oxygen out of the room,” Kinzinger said. “I mean, any candidate running for president right now has got to be frustrated, because everything is Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump.”
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