BEDFORD, N.H. — Jeb Bush's campaign is teetering on the edge of relevancy, but on Saturday he turned up the heat on his Republican rivals as he focuses on locking up votes ahead of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.
"I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but the guy needs therapy," Bush said of Trump, who will rejoin his Republican presidential rivals on the debate stage here Saturday night.
Trump currently holds a wide lead over other Republican candidates in state polls.
Jeb on Trump: You're going to bomb the S-H-blank-blank out of ISIS? really? Is that serious talk? #FITN #nhpolitics #nhprimary— Emily Cahn (@CahnEmily) February 6, 2016
Bush's campaign is betting heavily on New Hampshire, hoping to notch a strong showing here and then advance on to South Carolina. The New Hampshire primary though is the last and best chance to resuscitate the campaigns of a number of Republican candidates, who are all blanketing the state with events.
While Bush has trailed in the polls behind Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, voters are still clearly interested. More than 700 people, including hundreds more outside who could not fit in the space, packed into a room to hear him speak.
The scene at McKelvie Intermediate School in Bedford, NH, for Jeb pic.twitter.com/xsb8A8q6OX— Emily Cahn (@CahnEmily) February 6, 2016
Bush has taken more aggressive swipes at his GOP rivals as the primary draws closer. Here in Bedford, he seemed to single out Rubio for his lack of accomplishments, a theme his campaign has been pushing in paid advertisements.
"We have some very talented people running for president," Bush told supporters Saturday morning. "But think about it. Who on the stage tonight will have a proven record, a proven record of fixing problems, running to the fire rather than running away? Who has the record of not cutting and running instead of solving problems? You’re looking at him."
On Friday, Bush's campaign released a campaign that hit on the same theme, featuring a stumbling Rick Santorum failing to name a single Rubio accomplishment after endorsing the Florida senator.
On Saturday morning, Bush's campaign launched a 404 error page, suggesting that Rubio's accomplishment could not be found.
.@JebBush on @marcorubio: 404 Error, accomplishments not found. pic.twitter.com/aFtfkBFhZA— Emily Cahn (@CahnEmily) February 6, 2016
Still, while voters here said they like Bush and his family, he still hadn't closed the deal on their vote.
"Right now he's on the top of my list. I'm still going to consider him," said Don Grosso, a resident of New Boston, New Hampshire. "But long story short, I am impressed with Marco Rubio."