Bush Takes Pot Shots At Clinton, Trump During Hialeah Stop
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Jeb Bush is laughing off the suggestion he may drop out of the race.
"That's a joke for the new year," Bush said to a group of reporters after a campaign stop in Hialeah Monday.
"Miami has always been kind to the Bush family. My daughter Noel is here, my son Jeb Jr. This is our home," Bush said at Chico's restaurant on West 12th Avenue.
"Hialeah, this area, is gonna come out strong for him. It's just too bad that our primaries are so late," said Bush supporter and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Florida's primary isn't until March 15th.
The former Florida governor heads to New Hampshire on Tuesday, the home of the country's first primaries, following the Iowa caucuses in January.
Meantime, polls show Bush lagging in both states, well behind Donald Trump.
"He's not a serious candidate and we're living in serious times," Bush said. "We need a serious leader. And I'm the only candidate that has gone after him because everybody else seems to be intimidated by the bully and I'm not."
Bush joked Trump watched television on Saturdays and Sundays in his pajamas.
Trump tweeted Monday that wages in the U.S. are "too low."
That post was an about-face for the candidate who last month said wages in the U.S. were "too high" for the country to be competitive.
Bush also stressed the need to increase American incomes, while taking aim at an opponent he may never even face head-on.
"My biggest fear is that people's income is in decline. I don't care about the government size and scope. It can be smaller and people's income needs to grow. That's the difference between my philosophy and record of achievement and that of Hillary Clinton," he said.
Jeb Bush also touched on education and immigration during the event and vowed to pass immigration reform if elected president.
In regards to Cubans trying to enter the country through Costa Rica, he said they should not get a free pass.
He had plans to also visit Palm Beach and Ocala Monday.