--- title: Jeb Bush Makes the Case That Donald Trump Isn't Conservative description: The former Florida Governor ticks through ways the GOP frontrunner has positions that would be more at home among Democrats. canonical: https://time.com/4172287/jeb-bush-donald-trump-conservative/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-08T01:38:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:46:44.977Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bush Makes the Case That Trump Is Not Conservative og:description: A change in tactics. og:url: https://time.com/4172287/jeb-bush-donald-trump-conservative/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86cce354f67f3310/69887824cd1bba078e6fed62/donald-trump-jeb-bush.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 candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush holds a meet and greet at Chico's Restaurant on December 28, 2015 in Hialeah, Florida. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bush Makes the Case That Trump Is Not Conservative twitter:description: A change in tactics. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86cce354f67f3310/69887824cd1bba078e6fed62/donald-trump-jeb-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bush Makes the Case That Trump Is Not Conservative > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0ef241c2-01ea-4519-a71d-c45fa1716a1a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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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 / Peterborough, N.H.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Peterborough, N.H. Senior Correspondent Jan 8, 2016 1:38 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush holds a meet and greet at Chico's Restaurant on December 28, 2015 in Hialeah, Florida. Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush holds a meet and greet at Chico's Restaurant on December 28, 2015 in Hialeah, Florida.Johnny Louis—FilmMagic  by [Philip Elliott / Peterborough, N.H.](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott / Peterborough, N.H. Senior Correspondent Jan 8, 2016 1:38 AM UTC Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday upped his criticism of Donald Trump Thursday. For months, Bush has cast Trump’s bombast as disqualifying, his bluster dangerous and his foreign policy a folly. Now, Bush is going another route, arguing that Trump is insufficiently conservative and, maybe, a closet Democrat. “If people think Donald Trump is a conservative, prove it to me. I mean, really,” Bush said during a town hall in the iconic town hall in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Ticking through previous Trump positions on abortion rights, taxes and guns, Bush seemed well-briefed on his rival’s record in very specific detail. “He gives money to the Clinton Foundation. He thinks Hillary Clinton would be a great negotiator with Iran. He gave money to her campaign. Until recently, he was a Democrat. He supported Bill Clinton when he ran for President,” Bush said. Every charge is true, although Trump says he regrets those moves that took place before he decided to run for President himself. Bush kept hammering at Trump. “He was for a single-payer (health care system) system. Now he’s changed his mind. He was not a Second Amendment believer until he changed his mind. He was not only pro-choice but he believed in partial-birth abortion,” Bush said. “He supported a tax of 14 ½% tax on assets 10 years ago but now he’s changed.” **Read More:** [_Jeb Bush Backers Bought a Billboard to Troll Donald Trump_](http://time.com/4172077/jeb-bush-donald-trump-billboard/) An animated Bush seemed to be enjoying himself, letting lose on the research his campaign put in his briefings. “Can you trust Donald Trump to actually be a conservative? I don’t think so,” Bush said in a made-for-TV conclusion. “I think the conservative cause is worth fighting for.” It makes sense that Bush would know this. Trump’s primacy in the GOP primary has been in place for months, and Bush has a mind for specifics. But it was a slight twist of the screw for Bush. He had long make the case that Trump was simply too unpredictable for voters to risk, and his temperament would put the United States in danger. The pivot to domestic policy-based specifics about Trump is coming as time is running out for voters to derail his march to the nomination. The Trump rift is likely to come up during Q&A with voters, and is not yet part of his standard campaign speech, aides said. Aides were visibly pleased that their boss finally has started this line of criticism. “A conservative party should nominate a conservative candidate, not someone who has been all over the map,” Bush said. For Bush, it’s a bet that New Hampshire’s flinty voters will side with serious over circus within the next month. “You take it seriously. You ask the right questions. You make the discerning decisions,” said Bush, who still badly trails Trump in national and early-state polls. “I have enough confidence in the voters of New Hampshire to make the right decision.” **Read Next:** [_Republicans Fight to Be the Not-Trump in New Hampshire_](http://time.com/4170578/donald-trump-new-hampshire-second-place/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4172287/jeb-bush-donald-trump-conservative/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4172287/jeb-bush-donald-trump-conservative/"},"headline":"Bush Makes the Case That Trump Is Not Conservative","datePublished":"2016-01-08T01:38:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:46:44.977Z","description":"'A conservative party should nominate a conservative candidate'","url":"https://time.com/4172287/jeb-bush-donald-trump-conservative/","keywords":["jeb bush","2016 Election","new hampshire","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86cce354f67f3310/69887824cd1bba078e6fed62/donald-trump-jeb-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elliott / Peterborough, N.H."}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86cce354f67f3310/69887824cd1bba078e6fed62/donald-trump-jeb-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush holds a meet and greet at Chico's Restaurant on December 28, 2015 in Hialeah, Florida.","caption":"Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush holds a meet and greet at Chico's Restaurant on December 28, 2015 in Hialeah, Florida.","creditText":"Johnny Louis—FilmMagic","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/jeb-bush/","name":"jeb bush"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4172287/jeb-bush-donald-trump-conservative/","name":"Bush Makes the Case That Trump Is Not Conservative"}}]}] ```