Bush keeps hitting Rubio
Story highlights
- Bush had no qualms pointing out repeatedly that Rubio has neglected his job in Congress since launching his White House campaign
- "People that are serving need to show up and work. Period. Over and out," Bush told CNN's Jamie Gangel
Columbia, South Carolina (CNN)It hasn't exactly been a smooth ride for Jeb Bush: His poll numbers are stalled, his debate performances have failed to impress, and Donald Trump is now taunting him to drop out of the presidential race.
But rather than retreat, Bush is vowing to fight back, appearing almost energized by the task of rebooting his campaign.
"I'm a grinder," Bush told CNN's Jamie Gangel in a lengthy sit-down at a local restaurant here. He then repeated a line that seems to be serving as his new motto: "I eat nails before I have breakfast."
But as upbeat as he appeared, Bush acknowledged on Tuesday that the process of running for president has been, in some ways, more difficult than he anticipated.
"It's a different kind of hard than I expected, just because the emergence of people that have no proven record in public life," he said.
Part of Bush's new strategy is going after Marco Rubio. In Tuesday's interview, he had no qualms pointing out repeatedly that the first-term senator from Florida has neglected his job in Congress since launching his White House campaign.
"People that are serving need to show up and work. Period. Over and out," Bush told Gangel. "I just think people need to show up and work. That's what I did."
The former Florida governor, however, insisted that he didn't mean for these comments to be criticism of Rubio, his one-time mentee.
"I'm not attacking to say someone should show up to work," he said. "Do you get paid when you don't show up? I mean, come on. Does anybody in this room get paid when they decide I'm going to go do something else?"
"You're going to keep saying it?" Gangel asked.
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