It's not a matter of liking or not liking Donald Trump, GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Wednesday. He just doesn't think the New York business mogul is qualified for the office he's seeking.
"He's a gifted politician," the former Florida governor conceded on
Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program. "It doesn't really matter what I think about the guy. I just don't think he's ready to be president."
Bush told the show that Trump's campaign style is far different from his own.
"I believe I have the capability of leading this country," said Bush. "I have a steady hand. I'm not going to be spouting off and scaring people. I think you need to have a steady hand when you're commander in chief... and I listen before I act and talk. I think we need someone who actually has that capability."
But Trump has "made it clear he gets his foreign policy advice from the shows," said Bush, reiterating a statement he made Tuesday night about Trump learning from the Saturday and Sunday television programs.
"He's not a serious candidate," said Bush. "His proposals to ban all Muslims resonates politically, but the simple fact is it makes it harder for us to actually create a coalition to destroy ISIS, hich should be the primary objective for the next president."
The former governor also carried his arguments on Trump to other morning programs. On
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program, Bush said he believes he won some of his changes with Trump.
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Meanwhile, even though Trump is far ahead of him in the polls, Bush said there is plenty of time left for him in the race.
"Two-thirds of the people in Iowa in the latest poll that I saw say they could change their mind," Bush said. "They're latched on to a particular candidate today, but by Feb. 1, when the caucuses start, they could vote for somebody else," Bush said. "Similarly, in New Hampshire the same thing takes place. This is a wide-open race."
The early states take pride in being early and take the election seriously, Bush continued, and he wants to make the case that he is "ready from day one" to be president.
But statements that create fear and divisiveness, such as Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from entry into the United States, "would be damaging to the national security of our country."
"Put aside all of the emotional side of it, which I think is important as well, but the principal thing is, it would be harder to build a coalition in being successful in beating ISIS," said Bush. "How do you tell the Kurds, 'we'll arm you and support you, but you can't come to our country?'"
Also appearing on
CNN's "New Day" program, the former governor praised the network for offering a "substantive debate."
"People are scared," Bush said. "They want to know what people believe about how to protect the homeland."
But in the case of Trump, he continued, "he's a bully. Look, I mean, you guys interview him all the time. He has his way."
Bush also accused Trump of being "the mirror image of Barack Obama."
"They both have competing forms of pessimism and express it in clearly different ways, but we need to have a hopeful, optimistic message, believing in the strength of our country and how we keep ourselves safe by projecting American leadership in the world," said Bush.