Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, appearing weary of spending his interview time discussing rival Marco Rubio, told
"Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace he isn't privy to the meetings of the press that have declared the Florida senator a big winner in the GOP presidential race.
"Chris, there is some secret squirrel meeting that you guys get to where you decide who wins and who loses," Bush said on the program Sunday morning, a day after the latest GOP debate. "Marco Rubio came in third place in Iowa, and he was coronated. I can't control that. I'm just going to work my heart out."
Rubio appeared to stumble at the debate, where he repeated a line about President Barack Obama not being incompetent, but arguing he is purposely changing the country for the worse. He repeated the line even after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called him out for being scripted.
Bush agreed on Sunday that Rubio is "scripted," though he added his friend is a "gifted politician."
"He's a great speaker. But he came across as totally scripted and kind of robotic," Bush told Wallace. "But he's never had the chance to actually make a tough decision like governors do. Every time I think about it, I think about eight hurricanes and four tropical storms and 16 months, where you can't script that. That you got go out and be all in to help people, and we did."
Asked about one of his campaign's ads in which several Florida leaders say Bush is the most qualified for the Oval Office, Bush said that while people like Rubio, they see himself as most competent.
"We're running for the presidency of the United States here," Bush said. "We're not running for the back bench in the United States Senate."
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