--- title: Republican Debate: Jeb Bush's Strategist Laughs About Trump Smack description: "That might leave a mark," a top adviser to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says of the hard low-five during the CNN debate. canonical: https://time.com/4037935/republican-debate-bush-trump-slap/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-17T05:33:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:04.686Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Bush's Team Thinks of the Trump Smack og:description: "That might leave a mark," a top adviser to Bush says of the hard low-five. og:url: https://time.com/4037935/republican-debate-bush-trump-slap/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08c0a0db5591ff72/698863fba988ca24c56b45f2/jeb-bush-donald-trump-slap.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump (L) and Jeb Bush take part in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library on September 16, 2015 in Simi Valley, California. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Bush's Team Thinks of the Trump Smack twitter:description: "That might leave a mark," a top adviser to Bush says of the hard low-five. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08c0a0db5591ff72/698863fba988ca24c56b45f2/jeb-bush-donald-trump-slap.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bush Team Laughs About Trump Smack > 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.  by [Philip Elliott / Simi Valley, Calif.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Simi Valley, Calif. Senior Correspondent Sep 17, 2015 5:33 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump (L) and Jeb Bush take part in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 16, 2015. Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump (L) and Jeb Bush take part in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 16, 2015. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott / Simi Valley, Calif.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Simi Valley, Calif. Senior Correspondent Sep 17, 2015 5:33 AM UTC When Donald Trump put out his hand for a low-five from rival Jeb Bush, the former Florida Governor took his shot to strike the antagonistic billionaire. Even on television, it was clear Wednesday night’s hand slap came with a windup. It has been percolating for weeks, as Trump tweaked Bush for having “low-energy,” a slight that has gotten under Bush’s skin. Asked what his Secret Service code name would be, Bush turned to his codename he earned as Florida Governor from the state emergency management agency. “Eveready,” Bush said, borrowing the name of a battery brand. “It’s very high-energy, Donald.” The audience ate it up. Trump extended his left hand to Bush, who was standing beside him, to acknowledge Bush had won that moment. Video shows Bush biting his lip and going for it, hard. “That might leave a mark,” laughed Bush chief strategist David Kochel. “I watched it and thought, you know, he got a good laugh out of the crowd. He got a laugh out of The Donald. He showed his sense of humor. He closed strong. 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