Jeb is miserable at my rise, crows Trump: Republican frontrunner laughs at claims Bush is happy at The Donald hurting rest of field

  • Trump immediately put in a pin in that balloon, writing on Twitter that his performance in the polls is most likely a 'nightmare' for Bush
  • 'Wow, did the @nytimes fall into the Bush trap where his people convinced them how happy he was that I was hurting other candidates & not him'
  • Response from Bush spokesman: 'We're focused on our own campaign'

Donald Trump has enjoyed a large bump in 2016 Republican primary polls throughout the last month and a half, stealing much of the thunder from previous front-runners, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. 

Channeling Bush's presidential campaign, the New York Times wrote today that the ex-Florida governor and his supporters have looked upon Trump's rise with 'barely concealed delight.'

Trump immediately put in a pin in that balloon, writing on Twitter that his performance in the polls is most likely a 'nightmare' for Bush rather than a 'delight' and suggested the Times fells for a 'con job.'

Donald Trump has enjoyed a large bump in 2016 Republican primary polls throughout the last month and a half, stealing much of the thunder from previous front-runners, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. Bush is said to be delighted by Trump's surge, privately - a notion that Trump mocked today

Donald Trump has enjoyed a large bump in 2016 Republican primary polls throughout the last month and a half, stealing much of the thunder from previous front-runners, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. Bush is said to be delighted by Trump's surge, privately - a notion that Trump mocked today

Channeling Bush's presidential campaign, the New York Times wrote today that the ex-Florida governor and his supporters have looked upon Trump's rise with 'barely concealed delight'

Channeling Bush's presidential campaign, the New York Times wrote today that the ex-Florida governor and his supporters have looked upon Trump's rise with 'barely concealed delight'

'Wow, did the @nytimes fall into the Bush trap where his people convinced them how happy he was that I was hurting other candidates & not him,' Trump said in a follow-up tweet, several hours later.

He added: 'Despite the false @nytimes story about Jeb Bush being happy with the Trump surge, he fell more than anybody & is miserable.'

The Times' article did not include direct quotes from anyone close to Bush, but it indicated that Bush's advisers 'privately' believe Trump 'is nothing short of a godsend.'

A spokesman for Bush, Tim Miller, told DailyMail.com in response to its inquiry about the sentiments expressed in the article: 'We're focused on our own campaign.'

A Republican strategist with ties to Bush told DailyMail.com that Trump and other GOP candidates' attention-grabbing behavior has served as a 'good reminder' to Republican voters that 'its good to have an adult in this race.'

Bush's 'joyous, positive campaign that is consistent on its viewpoints and concentrates on the basics' of campaigning he said, including massive fundraising, has 'begun to create the perception that, hey this is a real adult campaign, former Republican Party of Florida chairman Al Cardenas told DailyMail.com.

Bush's strong campaigning is leading Republican voters to conclude he is 'someone who we think is dependable in what he's going to say and someone who we can go to sleep at night comfortable that he would be in charge,' Cardenas said.

Cardenas chaired the Florida Republican Party while Bush was governor of the state. He went on to serve as chair of the American Conservative Union and is currently a partner at law firm Squire Patton Boggs. 

Financial disclosures show that Bush's Super PAC and campaign have already raised a combined $115 million.

Asked about his substantial financial haul, so early on in the presidential race, over the weekend, Bush said, 'I think you might as well frontload it if you can. This is along haul.'

'Are we supposed to just warm up and work your way into it? Am I missing something here?' Bush told Politico reporter Mike Allen during an on-stage conversation at a Republican retreat.

A Bush spokesman told DailyMail.com in response to its inquiry, 'We're focused on our own campaign.' Bush s pictured here at an event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday

A Bush spokesman told DailyMail.com in response to its inquiry, 'We're focused on our own campaign.' Bush s pictured here at an event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday

Trump's surge among Republicans has indeed come at a cost for the real estate mogul, and not just financially speaking. 

He scores low on likeability and trustworthiness tests with voters nationally, and more Republicans say they could never see themselves voting for his than those that call them themselves supporters.

At the same time, Bush's approval rating has skyrocketed. He's viewed more favorably now than he has been in years. 

Respondents to a Quinnipiac poll released last week said they had a positive impression of Bush 43-41. That represents a major shift from the month before, when just 28 percent of the electorate expressed positive feelings about the son and brother of former U.S. presidents. 

Cardenas said Trump's rise isn't the only reason that Bush's image has improved, however.

'I think the main reason why the unfavorables have gone down,' he said, is that as 'more people get to know him as a Jeb identity rather than as a Bush identity, the more comfortable they are, and that they're going to judge him on his own merits.'

Bush's standing in the Quinnipiac poll has taken a hit since Trump came on the scene earlier this year, but not by much. In April he polled at 13 percent. That dropped to 10 percent in May and has remained steady ever since.

Conservative firebrands Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee appear to be the most negatively affected by Trump's entry into the 2016 race, dropping from 10 percent each to six percent in Quinnipiac's latest poll, taken in late July.

Walker has actually increased his popularity since the May survey, going from 10 percent to 13 percent, while New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's and Texas Senator Ted Cruz's numbers haven't really changed at all. 

That's possibly because Trump, who has been compared to both stylistically and ideologically, is stunting their growth in the polls.

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