--- title: Donald Trump Germophobia: Jeb Bush Attacks in Ad description: Jeb Bush is attacking Republican frontrunner Donald Trump over his well-known germophobia. canonical: https://time.com/4019702/jeb-bush-donald-trump-germophobia/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-02T10:00:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:28.212Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bush Gets Personal With 'Germophobe' Attack on Trump og:description: The real estate mogul has a well-known dislike of shaking hands. og:url: https://time.com/4019702/jeb-bush-donald-trump-germophobia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbddc6b0f9af6ff83/69885fe8524fc02748df41da/jeb-bush5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3433 og:image:height: 1931 og:image:alt: Jeb Bush og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bush Gets Personal With 'Germophobe' Attack on Trump twitter:description: The real estate mogul has a well-known dislike of shaking hands. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbddc6b0f9af6ff83/69885fe8524fc02748df41da/jeb-bush5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bush Gets Personal With 'Germophobe' Attack on Trump > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Jeb Bush: 'I Am My Own Man' [Watch (HLS stream): Jeb Bush: 'I Am My Own Man'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xQD7X5yR.m3u8) (1:14)  _Published 2015-02-18. Jeb Bush: 'I Am My Own Man'_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 2, 2015 10:00 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush speaks during a town hall meeting on Aug. 17, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Republican presidential candidate former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush speaks during a town hall meeting on Aug. 17, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Rainier Ehrhardt—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Sep 2, 2015 10:00 AM UTC Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is escalating his all-out campaign against GOP front-runner Donald Trump with a new ad campaign and quiz on social media designed to highlight Bush’s conservative credentials in contrast with the businessman’s past embrace of the Democratic Party. Branded “Which candidate are you?” the [quiz](https://jeb2016.com/which-candidate-are-you/) notes that Trump once said he thought Hillary Clinton would negotiate a strong deal with Iran, backed an assault weapons ban and expressed support for single-payer healthcare, while highlighting Bush’s opposition on all those fronts. In a strikingly personal attack, the quiz asks voters whether they would prefer a candidate who “is a germophobe when it comes to shaking hands,” a reference to Trump’s documented phobia, Bush, meanwhile is cast as a candidate who “strives to shake every hand everywhere.” After collecting users’ email addresses and zip codes, the quiz presents its results. “You have clear Democratic tendencies,” it spits out if too many Trump items are selected. “You’re looking for the candidate who proposed record new tax hikes, supported single-payer health care, and supported an assault weapons ban. You’ve found your man in Donald Trump.” Meanwhile, those who select pro-Bush options are presented with, “Jeb Bush is a conservative reformer for President who will actually get results. Like you, he supports cutting taxes, reducing spending, and limiting the role of the federal government in your life.” The quiz follows a biting video from the Bush campaign Tuesday noting Trump’s past support for Democratic principles. Trump fired back with an Instagram video showing Bush presenting Clinton with an award for her career in public service, and calling for an end to Bushes and Clintons in the White House. The escalation comes as the Bush campaign has determined they believe there is a strategic benefit in attacking Trump, potentially helping their candidate shore up support on his vulnerable right flank. The campaign had previously hoped to ignore Trump’s rise throughout the summer. The Bush campaign is promoting the quiz on Facebook, targeting people “who have expressed an interest in or like pages related to Donald Trump” in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the campaign said. ### See Jeb Bush's Life in Photos  George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, Jan. 1, 1955. Sygma/Corbis  From left to right: Doro, Marvin, Neil, and Jeb Bush, fall 1963. George Bush Presidential Library  From left to right: Doro, George, Jeb, Marvin, George W., Neil, and Barbara Bush, 1966. George Bush Presidential Library  Jeb Bush (center) was the varsity tennis team captain during his senior year at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., 1971. Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library  George Bush and his four sons, Neil, Jeb, George W. and Marvin in 1970. Bob E. Daemmrich—Sygma/Corbis  Jeb and Columba Bush on their wedding day, Feb. 23, 1974. George Bush Presidential Library  Jeb Bush loudly applauds his father, Republican presidential hopeful George Bush, at a campaign rally in Concord, N.H. on Feb. 28, 1980. Frank Lorenzo—Bettmann/Corbis  Vice President George Bush holds a fish with his sons George W. and Jeb during a family vacation in Kennebunkport, Maine in Aug. 1983. Cynthia Johnson—Getty Images  From left to right (without children): Neil and Sharon Bush, George W. Bush and wife Laura, Barbara and George Bush, Margaret and Marvin, Bobby Koch and Dorothy, Jeb and Columba, are seen in this Bush family photo taken in Kennebunkport, Maine on Aug. 24, 1986. Dave Valdez—White House/Sygma/Corbis  Jeb Bush plays cards with his son while riding in a recreational vehicle, Nov. 8, 1993. Christopher Little—Corbis  Jeb Bush is interviewed at a Miami Radio Station, WIOD, Mar. 1980\. He went on to become Governor of Florida in 1999. Tim Chapman—Getty Images  George W. Bush and Jeb Bush at the Republican Governors' Convention in New Orleans, 1998. Nina Berman—SIPA  Texas governor George W. Bush celebrates good news with his brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, while watching the presidential election returns, prior to being elected as President of the United States, inside the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Nov. 7, 2000. Brooks Kraft—Sygma/Corbis  Republican governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, studies his laptop watching vote returns for his reelection his wife Columba Bush and his parents, former President George Bush and first lady Barbara Bush in Miami on Nov. 5, 2002. Joe Burbank—Orlando Sentinel/MCT/Getty Images  Republican nominee for President, Mitt Romney, campaigns around Florida with Governor Jeb Bush, left, Senator Marco Rubio, right, and Congressman Connie Mack, left back of head, in Coral Gables, Fla. on Oct., 31, 2012. Melina Mara—The Washington Post/Getty Images  Jeb Bush speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. 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