Jeb Bush to Donald Trump: 'Dude,' figure out US nuclear policy
"If he's aspiring to the presidency, the dude ought to try to figure out what the nuclear triad is. Come on," Bush quipped on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
Bush was referring to last month's GOP debate, in which Trump appeared to dodge a question about the "nuclear triad," or the US nuclear-weapon system based on aircraft, land missiles, and submarines.
"With nuclear, the power, the devastation is very important to me," Trump said then when asked which of the three legs he would prioritize.
Bush, one of Trump's chief campaign-trail critics, has repeatedly sought to highlight that exchange. Last week, Bush told radio host Hugh Hewitt, who asked Trump the nuclear-triad question during the debate, that he would have attacked Trump at the debate on the topic if he had been given the opportunity.
"I would have ripped into Trump saying he had no understanding of the first obligation of a president, which is because he has unique responsibility as it relates to the deterrent effect of what the nuclear triad bring," Bush said, bashing Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) for giving Trump a pass.
"And then I would have said that all of them are important, but I think the submarine part of this needs to have the highest priority," Bush added. "I think our Navy has been devastated just by neglect."