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Trump surge challenges Bush to fight, yet keep the ‘joy’

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2015, file photo, Republican presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks to employees at Foss Manufacturing during campaign stop in Hampton. N.H. Bush wanted to run for president as a joyful front-runner, above the fray of the pack. Instead, he heads into the fall campaign as a fighter with a foil: Donald Trump. "I believe that a conservative can win, campaigning with his arms wide open, with joy in his heart, speaking about the hopes and aspirations of the people, being on the side of the people that right now don’t see their lives in the future being better than what they have today," Bush said in New Hampshire late last week. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2015, file photo, Republican presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks to employees at Foss Manufacturing during campaign stop in Hampton. N.H. Bush wanted to run for president as a joyful front-runner, above the fray of the pack. Instead, he heads into the fall campaign as a fighter with a foil: Donald Trump. "I believe that a conservative can win, campaigning with his arms wide open, with joy in his heart, speaking about the hopes and aspirations of the people, being on the side of the people that right now don’t see their lives in the future being better than what they have today," Bush said in New Hampshire late last week. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File) FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2015, file photo, Republican presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks to employees at Foss Manufacturing during campaign stop in Hampton. N.H. Bush wanted to run for president as a joyful front-runner, above the fray of the pack. Instead, he heads into the fall campaign as a fighter with a foil: Donald Trump. "I believe that a conservative can win, campaigning with his arms wide open, with joy in his heart, speaking about the hopes and aspirations of the people, being on the side of the people that right now don’t see their lives in the future being better than what they have today," Bush said in New Hampshire late last week. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

By Associated Press 1 min read

LACONIA, N.H. (AP) – There’s a new urgency in Jeb Bush’s tone as a candidate for president

He’s moved from a quiet annoyance with Donald Trump’s constant needling to a willingness to confront the brash billionaire.

Though he still relies on the policy-driven arguments that suit his wonkish style, the son and brother of former presidents is also acknowledging what’s powered Trump’s rise: outrage with the political class his family embodies.

Bush aides argue there was no “Aha!” moment for the former Florida governor that triggered a shift in strategy. Instead, they said, the threat posed by Trump has awakened an instinctive sense of drive.