Jeb blames Obama for Trump's rise

Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush, the once-dubbed shining star of the Republican primary process by those in the more establishment camp of the party – and the presidential candidate whose poll numbers have stayed stubbornly dismal since kicking off his campaign – took some potshots at GOP front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday, characterizing the billionaire businessman as little more than a product of Barack Obama.

"But for Barack Obama, Donald Trump's effect would not be nearly as strong as it is," Bush said, NBC News reported.

Specifically, Trump is "a creature of Barack Obama" who wouldn't survive in a more normal political environment, Bush went on, the news outlet said.

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Bush's comments came a day after he announced a major shift in campaign activities. The campaign, for example, canceled previously scheduled advertisements in favor of putting the cash toward a more substantial ground game.

Wednesday, Bush explained the move to reporters as a simple strategy absent any underlying comment about the state of his race.

"We have a Super PAC that is advertising on TV at a rate that is comparable to any other campaign, if not more, and we're reallocating our resources to voter contact and a ground game that will be second to none," he said, NBC News reported. "So we're all in, the schedule will show that we're all in, the amount of people that are working and all the work that is done to be able now to convert these people into voters in a contested race."

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Some political watchers saw the shift in campaign operations as a last-hour effort of Bush to reinvigorate his race. But Bush downplayed the maneuvers.

While bashing Trump a day later as an Obama offshoot, the former Florida governor also said he didn't need to win all the early voting states in order to stay competitive.

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"I don't think I have to win any of them," he said, NBC News reported, "because we're organized in every state. The good news is, expectations are low for me and I'm definitely going to beat those. I feel really good about New Hampshire, to be honest with you."

And he then offered this stilted explanation: "Just, just the way it, it feels."