Jeb Bush swipes at Obama, nudges George W. Bush
Jeb Bush kidded with Stephen Colbert during the comic's debut episode as host of "The Late Show" on CBS Tuesday night.
As Colbert's first political guest, the Republican presidential candidate noted the number of drawings of Colbert that appeared on the ceiling of the Ed Sullivan Theater.
"I used to play a narcissistic conservative pundit," Colbert said. "Now I'm just a narcissist."
The two men talked about how to restore civility to politics.
Colbert pointed to his brother sitting in the audience and noted that he disagreed with him politically.
He asked Bush where he disagreed with his brother, former President George W. Bush, and the current candidate said his brother didn't do enough to hold down spending in the second term of his administration.
At one point, Bush said, "I don't think Barack Obama has bad motives. I just think he's wrong on a lot of issues."
"Oh, you were so close to getting them to clap! You were THIS CLOSE!!" Colbert kidded.
Here's a clip from the interview, talking about the president:
Earlier this week, Bush sent an email blast saying he would raffle off a VIP ticket to his appearance on the first night of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," along with a dinner with Jets owner Woody Johnson. The catch? The entry fee was a $3 donation to Bush's campaign.
Colbert, in response, held his own raffle - also $3 to enter - with a prize of two VIP tickets, flights and a stay at a 4-star hotel, as well as a question for the candidate.
The show later released a bonus clip with Bush's answer to the raffle winner's question, which touched on gun violence in the country and what the presidential candidate would like to do about the issue.
Bush said guns shouldn't be restricted by the federal government and that laws should be passed on a state-by-state basis. The GOP contender pointed to the track record of Florida, which he said could be considered "a Second Amendment, pro-gun state," but where gun violence was "way down."
"We have simple checks to make sure that people that aren't criminals are not accessing guns," the former Florida governor added. "And I think the next step is to figure out ways to make sure that we know if people have mental health issues."
The extra video also included some debate prep for the Republican candidate, with Bush parroting a few "Trumpier" lines -- courtesy of Colbert -- to use in the next CNN debate.
"I will build a wall between the United States and Iran and make Mexico pay for it," Bush read off a prompter.
"Trucks are strong. I will turn the National Mall into a luxury golf course and China will respect that," he continued. "I promise to put Meatloaf on the ten dollar bill, and give little John a cabinet position which would send the message that this great nation will never turn down for what."