--- description: Tis the season. Donald Trump just announced his candidacy for president. Despite America's pleas, Trump insists on being Trump. I suppose we should not be... title: How Donald Trump Stole Jeb Bush's Moment image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70d615297862c1d4/698854b8428a9e55a3ccdbb7/donald-trump-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Donald Trump Stole Jeb Bush's Moment  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2015 7:35 PM CUT  Donald Trump holds up his financial statement showing his net worth as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during an event at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16, 2015. Donald Trump holds up his financial statement showing his net worth as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during an event at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16, 2015.Brendan McDermid—Reuters  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 16, 2015 7:35 PM CUT Tis the season. Donald Trump just announced his candidacy for president. [Despite America’s pleas](https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/610753132793077761 "undefined"), Trump insists on being Trump. I suppose we should not be surprised by this. Of course, the Donald’s announcement is a sideshow, especially when compared to Jeb Bush’s announcement yesterday. Bush’s speech was years in the making, and for the most part he delivered. He talked about passing both immigration and education reform, and even went so far to label himself a “reforming governor.” He spoke about his economic goals with unusual specificity—for those curious, he’s aiming for 4 percent economic growth per year. But it was hard not to notice that Bush went light on foreign policy specifics. He briefly mentioned Israel and Cuba, but did not make a single other reference to the Middle East. He lamented the “swift, mindless drawdown of the military” without explaining how he would use it after restoring it to full strength. I had high hopes that we’d get a bit more foreign policy detail from Bush, especially since his announcement came on the heels of his 5-day trip to Europe. The trip was hailed a success since Jeb managed to avoid saying anything particularly dumb or cringe-inducing, which is what passes for success if you’re a presidential hopeful these days (read [this Atlantic piece](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/republicans-european-trips-jeb-bush/395480/ "undefined") for a brief yet entertaining history of GOP travels to Europe). Truth be told, it is worrying that we’ve needed to set the bar of expectations so low in the first place—Trump notwithstanding. But as the 2016 primary season rolls on, the American people need to start demanding more from their candidates, especially on the foreign policy front. The sad reality is that the only politicians who have so far presented coherent foreign policy visions are all considered long shots (ex: Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham). They have nothing to lose by telling people directly what they think about America’s role in the world. On the flip side we have perceived front-runners like Jeb and Hillary, who have so much to lose that they don’t say much of anything. Left to their own devices, they will continue not saying anything till Election Day. Primaries are an important part of the democratic process, and nominees should be held to a higher standard—which in 2016 means having some semblance of a foreign policy vision. ### See the 2016 Candidates' Campaign Launches  Sen. Ted Cruz kicked off his campaign for 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. on March 23. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul launched his bid for the Republican nomination at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville on April 7\. Supporters held signs with the slogan "Defeat the Washington Machine / Unleash the American Dream." Amy Harris—Corbis  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her campaign in a YouTube video posted April 12 that has been seen nearly 4.5 million times. One boy featured in the video boasted about playing a fish in a school play. Hillary For America  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio announced his campaign for the Republican nomination during a rally at the Freedom Tower in Miami on April 13\. He took a drink of water during the speech, a callback to his State of the Union response in 2013. Wilfredo Lee—AP  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his bid for the Democratic nomination across the street from the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2015\. The backdrop was unusual, since most candidates rail against Washington. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced his bid for the Republican nomination at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts May 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. The launch featured a gospel choir covering Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Bill Pugliano—Getty Images  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced her campaign for the Republican nomination in a conference call on May 4, then went on "Good Morning America" to talk to George Stephanopoulos. Lou Rocco—Getty Images  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his campaign at a community college in his hometown of Hope, Ark., on May 5\. Singer Tony Orlando (right) performed. Left: Danny Johnston; Right: Matt Sullivan—Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki (C) greets supporters after formally announcing his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Exeter, N.H. on May 28, 2015. Dominick Reuter—Reuters  Former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee announces his candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announces his 2016 presidential candidacy in Central, S.C. on June 1, 2015. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is joined by his wife Katie O'Malley (R) as he announces his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a speech at Federal Hill Park in Baltimore on May 30, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Former Texas governor Rick Perry announces his candidacy for Republican presidential nominee at an event held at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Louis DeLuca—Dallas Morning News/Corbis  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush waves on stage as he announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event at Miami-Dade College - Kendall Campus in Miami on June 15 , 2015. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  Donald Trump holds up his financial statement showing his net worth as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during an event at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Kenner, La. on June 24, 2015. Jonathan Bachman—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J. on June 30, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker greets supporters after announcing that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in Waukesha, Wis. on July 13, 2015 . Scott Olson—Getty Images  Ohio Governor John Kasich arrives on stage to formally announce his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally in Columbus, Ohio on July 21, 2015. Aaron P. Bernstein—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3923130/donald-trump-jeb-bush/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3923130/donald-trump-jeb-bush/"},"headline":"How Donald Trump Stole Jeb Bush's Moment","datePublished":"2015-06-16T19:35:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:01.328Z","description":"Tis the season. Donald Trump just announced his candidacy for president. Despite America's pleas, Trump insists on being Trump. I suppose we should not be...","url":"https://time.com/3923130/donald-trump-jeb-bush/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","politics","World","Election","President","jeb bush"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70d615297862c1d4/698854b8428a9e55a3ccdbb7/donald-trump-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ian Bremmer","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt70d615297862c1d4/698854b8428a9e55a3ccdbb7/donald-trump-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Republican presidential candidate Trump holds up his financial statement as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Trump Tower in New York","caption":"U.S. Republican presidential candidate Trump holds up his financial statement as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Trump Tower in New York","creditText":"Brendan McDermid—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3923130/donald-trump-jeb-bush/","name":"How Donald Trump Stole Jeb Bush's Moment"}}]}] ```