AFP, Washington :
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump had a message Wednesday for his Spanish-speaking rival Jeb Bush as they compete for their party’s presidential nomination: lead by “speaking English.”
“I like Jeb,” Trump said in an interview with conservative website Breitbart News. “He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”
The jab against Jeb was the latest in a war of words between the two major Republican candidates that has heated up dramatically in recent weeks.
Bush, the son and brother of two presidents, pledged early in the campaign to be the “happy warrior” on the trail.
But he has been upstaged by the brash and bombastic Trump, the billionaire tycoon who shot from nowhere to the front of the pack after announcing his candidacy in June.
Trump triggered a firestorm by saying Mexico was sending rapists and other criminals illegally into the United States.
He has attacked Bush for being a “low-energy” candidate, mocked his rival’s immigration plan, and belittled Bush for sliding in the polls while Trump ascends.
Bush lived in Mexico and Venezuela as a young adult, his wife was born in Mexico and he speaks fluent Spanish.
He has broken into his second language on several occasions on the campaign trail, especially when he is in regions with high Hispanic populations like Florida and near the southern US border in Texas.
He has recently begun hitting out at Trump in Spanish and English, in a bid to claw back some support five months before the first-in-the-nation nominating contest in Iowa.
“El hombre no es conservador” — the man is not conservative, Bush told reporters in Miami Tuesday after a campaign stop, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“Besides, he tries to personalize everything. If you’re not totally in agreement with him you’re an idiot, or stupid, or don’t have energy, or blah blah blah.”
Bush bashed Trump Tuesday with a new video highlighting the liberal positions Trump has espoused over the years, including The Donald’s past support for abortion rights, a single-payer health care system, and for Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic White House frontrunner. Trump dismissed Bush’s video as “yet another weak hit by a candidate with a failing campaign.”
Meanwhile, seeking to avert a 2016 disaster, the Republican National Committee on Wednesday challenged every GOP presidential candidate to sign a pledge not to undertake a third-party bid under any circumstances.
The challenge, confirmed by multiple campaigns, is aimed squarely at Donald Trump. And the timing of the pledge suggests an agreement has been reached.
While he is leading the packed Republican field in early polls, the billionaire businessman last month repeatedly threatened to launch a third-party bid – leaving open the possibility even at the GOP’s first presidential debate last month – should he fail to claim the Republican presidential nomination. Such a decision would make it all but impossible for the Republican Party to win the White House in 2016.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump had a message Wednesday for his Spanish-speaking rival Jeb Bush as they compete for their party’s presidential nomination: lead by “speaking English.”
“I like Jeb,” Trump said in an interview with conservative website Breitbart News. “He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”
The jab against Jeb was the latest in a war of words between the two major Republican candidates that has heated up dramatically in recent weeks.
Bush, the son and brother of two presidents, pledged early in the campaign to be the “happy warrior” on the trail.
But he has been upstaged by the brash and bombastic Trump, the billionaire tycoon who shot from nowhere to the front of the pack after announcing his candidacy in June.
Trump triggered a firestorm by saying Mexico was sending rapists and other criminals illegally into the United States.
He has attacked Bush for being a “low-energy” candidate, mocked his rival’s immigration plan, and belittled Bush for sliding in the polls while Trump ascends.
Bush lived in Mexico and Venezuela as a young adult, his wife was born in Mexico and he speaks fluent Spanish.
He has broken into his second language on several occasions on the campaign trail, especially when he is in regions with high Hispanic populations like Florida and near the southern US border in Texas.
He has recently begun hitting out at Trump in Spanish and English, in a bid to claw back some support five months before the first-in-the-nation nominating contest in Iowa.
“El hombre no es conservador” — the man is not conservative, Bush told reporters in Miami Tuesday after a campaign stop, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“Besides, he tries to personalize everything. If you’re not totally in agreement with him you’re an idiot, or stupid, or don’t have energy, or blah blah blah.”
Bush bashed Trump Tuesday with a new video highlighting the liberal positions Trump has espoused over the years, including The Donald’s past support for abortion rights, a single-payer health care system, and for Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic White House frontrunner. Trump dismissed Bush’s video as “yet another weak hit by a candidate with a failing campaign.”
Meanwhile, seeking to avert a 2016 disaster, the Republican National Committee on Wednesday challenged every GOP presidential candidate to sign a pledge not to undertake a third-party bid under any circumstances.
The challenge, confirmed by multiple campaigns, is aimed squarely at Donald Trump. And the timing of the pledge suggests an agreement has been reached.
While he is leading the packed Republican field in early polls, the billionaire businessman last month repeatedly threatened to launch a third-party bid – leaving open the possibility even at the GOP’s first presidential debate last month – should he fail to claim the Republican presidential nomination. Such a decision would make it all but impossible for the Republican Party to win the White House in 2016.
