Jeb Bush super PAC adviser dubs 2016's election the 'stupidest campaign in the world'

Former Jeb Bush super PAC adviser Mike Murphy has a simple explanation for why the former Florida governor didn't survive in the 2016 presidential election: He just simply wasn't cut out for today's "Kardashian World."
"When Trump said low energy, what he was really saying was too polite, too civil, too many big words. Jeb's not built for the stupidest campaign in the world," Murphy, the longtime GOP adviser behind the Right to Rise PAC, told CNBC's John Harwood in an interview published Thursday.
Murphy said that because Bush's style would normally be a good fit for a general election candidate, it took the campaign a while to wake up to the "nightmare" that nobody actually wanted a "smart guy who wants to run an accretive campaign with nongrievance politics." Looking back, Murphy said he wishes he would've been more aggressive in organizing attacks on Trump, who he said "has fascist tendencies." "If I go back in a time machine," Murphy said, "maybe one of the arguments I would have made, and I think the other campaigns would have passed on it was, 'We have a systemic threat with Trump here. I'll match all you guys.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Anybody have a time machine? If not, you can still read the rest of Murphy's comments on the past, present, and future state of the race over at CNBC.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
A running list of Trump's conflicts of interest
In Depth A potential Qatari plane is the latest in a series of problematic connections
-
The ins and outs of experiencing the best of travel by Amtrak
The Week Recommends The journey is slower, but the scenery is stunning
-
Leo XIV: What an American pope can teach America
Feature Chicago-born Bob Prevost makes history by becoming the first American pope
-
Trump DOJ said to pay $5M to family of Jan. 6 rioter
speed read The US will pay a hefty sum to the family of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot on January 6
-
Trump DOJ charging House Democrat in ICE fracas
speed read Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault over a clash outside an immigration detention facility in Newark
-
Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer
speed read The diagnosis hits close to home, as the former president 'dedicated much of his later career to cancer research'
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group