Jeb Bush can’t seem to stop talking about the Patriots
Cash-strapped and falling fast in the polls, Jeb Bush has found himself in a precarious position. The former Republican frontrunner needs to amass a significant comeback to become his party’s presidential nominee.
Now, having guaranteed a win in New Hampshire, Bush seems to have found a new strategy: appeal to Granite Staters’ love of the New England Patriots.
Campaigning Thursday in Somersworth, New Hampshire, the former Florida governor muffed a question on Deflategate, but was able to turn it around by praising Tom Brady, The Boston Globereported.
“All I know is I love sports,’’ Bush said. “It’s a great divergent, it’s a common bond. I don’t really care about deflategate. It just doesn’t — it’s not going to be on my list of things to fret about. I worry about rising income for the middle class, that’s what I worry about.’’
The crowd applauded.
“We obsess about some really interesting things, you know, that if you think about it are like great topics of conversations,’’ Bush said. “And we don’t obsess about the things that are hugely important: The heroin epidemic in New Hampshire; declining income for the middle class; 6 million people stuck in poverty. There’s some big issues that we need to focus on.
“Deflategate is just a diversion that kind of keeps us entertained.’’
The crowd was silent, until Bush reached for a way to win them back.
“I take Brady any day of the week as quarterback, how about that?’’ he said. “As long as he has Gronkowski.’’
Having fallen into his crowd’s good graces with his appreciation of the Patriots quarterback, Bush brought up how Rob Gronkowski was leading his undefeated fantasy football team — as he has repeatedlydone before.
(Bush first said in September that Gronkowski was the star of his fantasy team, before inviting the Patriots tight end on Twitter to a New Hampshire town hall, and also giving Gronk a shout out during the most recent Republican debate.)
Bush also mentioned Thursday how he went to high school with Bill Belichick, who he called “the greatest coach in NFL history.’’
“He’s such a warm and fuzzy guy,’’ Bush said, via the Globe. “He’s actually, on a personal level, much nicer than he appears in his press conferences.’’
Remember: the New England Patriots are “The Ethanol of New Hampshire.’’ The fact that Bush is a Miami Dolphins fan should be a good case in point.
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