Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dropped out of the race Saturday after a sad finish in the South Carolina primary but not before leaving behind a string of deliciously awkward moments as an inheritance for the Internet.
From literally begging voters for support to withstanding a slew of Donald Trump insults, Jeb’s momentum steadily declined. Despite far superior fundraising, Jeb’s presidential bid became a steady source of awkward and sometimes explicitly pathetic campaign gaffes.
The nine most awkward moments of Jeb’s failed campaign are below.
1.“Please clap.” Jeb spoke at a New Hampshire campaign event in early February and gave what was apparently meant to be an applause line. When no one clapped, Bush gave his famous plea, “please clap.”
2. Jebbush.com is team Trump. Donald Trump systematically destroyed Jeb throughout the campaign, so it wasn’t too surprising when news broke that JebBush.com redirected to Trump’s website. After Trump’s South Carolina victory, the webpage redirected to Trump’s victory speech. The page now goes to a placeholder page.
3. “Did I mention his name?” Trump bullied Jeb like a kid on the playground, and it showed. An excerpt from a New York Times story depicts an interaction showing just how bad it affected Jeb.
On Saturday, after remaining with the congregation for a singing of the hymn “Adon Olam,” set to the tune of “God Bless America,” Mr. Bush walked out of the synagogue toward his waiting sport utility vehicle. He was asked by a reporter if he was frustrated with Mr. Trump. Mr. Bush shot back, “I don’t think I mentioned his name.”
But he did not leave it there. After climbing into the passenger seat and closing the door, Mr. Bush lowered the window and, as the vehicle edged out of the parking lot, three more times demanded: “Did I mention his name?”
4. The sad, sad chest bump. At a November town hall, Jeb met a supporter who said he had switched over from Ted Cruz. That’s when Jeb engaged in the most pathetic chest bump of all time, especially when compared with his brother’s epic chest bump at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Cruz supporter tells Bush he’s now backing him instead. Bush gives him a chest bump. pic.twitter.com/S201SJEabh
— Ashley Killough (@KilloughCNN) November 12, 2015
The sadness continued when Jeb apparently forced his brother into a chest bump just before the South Carolina primary.
.@JebBush Just Dropped Behind the Scenes Footage of Him & W. — It Features a Bro Chest Bumphttps://t.co/dB9TEflyMDhttps://t.co/AkMNkNWgiJ
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 17, 2016
5. Trump’s debate dominance. Trump repeatedly embarassed Jeb during the Republican debates. After calling Jeb low energy, Jeb appeared to come to the debate with more fire, but Trump just used that to mock him too.
6. Jeb paid $2,800 a vote in Iowa. Jeb Bush fared poorly at the Iowa caucuses despite spending more than any other candidate. In fact, a Huffington Post report revealed that Jeb spent an incredible $2,800 per vote in Iowa.
7. The high five. After getting repeatedly savaged by Trump, Jeb gave the candidate a high five, apparently eager to finally get his approval.
8. Rotary Club booted Jeb off stage. Jeb was speaking at a Rotary Club in New Hampshire in early February when a Rotary official interrupted the presidential candidate and sent him back to his seat. A C-SPAN video of the speech shows the man interrupting Bush’s speech and ushering him off the stage.
“They’re kicking me off the stage!” Bush says, waving his arms, apparently flabbergasted by what is happening.
“Thank you very much for joining us today,” the Rotary official says.”I believe your schedule has a hard stop.”
9. Jeb’s own mother said he shouldn’t be president. Former First Lady Barbara Bush told Today in 2013 that “There are other people out there that are very qualified and we’ve had enough Bushes.” Admittedly, the comments came before Jeb announced his run for president, and after Jeb started campaigning, his mom said he “would be a great president.” But Trump still mocked him during the campaign for the fact that even his own mother doubted him.
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