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HIALEAH, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Monday that Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton "has no clue" about leading the country and GOP front-runner Donald Trump is "not serious about being a candidate."
Supporters cheered the former Florida governor's remarks at a Cuban restaurant near Miami.
Speaking briefly at times in Spanish before the largely Cuban supporters, Bush said America's leadership in the world is "essential for peace and security" and that "Hillary Clinton has no clue."
He repeated his critique of Trump from the Republican debate in Las Vegas, saying the billionaire businessman gets his foreign policy advice from "the shows." He said Trump "wakes up in his pajamas and watches the TV shows on Saturday and Sunday."
Bush said Trump "is not serious about being a candidate," but is a "great politician" who "fills the space."
The stop in Hialeah was one of three Bush made in Florida on Monday. He later answered questions at a luncheon by the non-partisan Forum Club in West Palm Beach and was scheduled to speak at a town hall in Ocala.
At the Palm Beach Convention Center, Bush fielded a wide range of questions about China, Cuba, cyber security, and immigration. He also was asked about his GOP rival Trump, whose Mar-A-Lago mansion is only a few miles from where Bush spoke and who had been in town in recent days.
When asked what he would say to Trump if he walked into the room, Bush said: "I'd say, 'Donald, I'll take you on one-on-one in a debate, any time, any place. You name it. I'll be there.'"
The latest national and statewide poll shows Bush trailing Trump and several other GOP candidates. Bush travels to New Hampshire and South Carolina before returning to his home in Miami for New Year's Day.
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