Speculation was fueled when he announced he would be "actively exploring" a run for president on December 16, 2014, and resigned from several corporate boards.

Widely seen as the 'establishment' candidate, Bush was expected to court and win donors who were central to the 2012 presidential election on the Republican side.

[14] By extending the 'exploration mode' of his 'potential candidacy' to a six-month period (his scheduled announcement one day short of six months after his exploratory phase), Bush used his time to get acquainted with the press, court donors, and prepare strategy.

[15] By May 2015, it was roughly estimated that Bush had raised in excess of $100 million for his Right to Rise PAC, which is expected to exceed his challengers in the Republican field.

"[17][18] Bush appeared as Bob Schieffer's final interview guest on Face the Nation during his retirement episode.

Bush: In retrospect, the intelligence that everybody saw, that the world saw, not just the United States, was, um, faulty, and in retrospect, once we, once we, um, invaded, and took out Saddam Hussein, we didn't focus on security first, and the Iraqis in this incredibly insecure environment turned on the United States military because there was no security for themselves and their families.

[29] Bush embarked on a tour following his June 15 announcement, with stops in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.

[30] The Bush campaign cancelled events in Charleston, South Carolina, in light of the June 17 mass shooting.

[31] In early August 2015, while speaking at the Southern Baptist Forum in Nashville, Tennessee, Bush questioned the $500 million in federal funding for Planned Parenthood; a line from Bush's speech, "I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues", garnered criticism and became a talking point at the August 2015 Republican Debate.

[34] On August 11, 2015, Bush gave a major foreign policy speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, outlining his positions on Middle Eastern issues.

[36] The tour accompanied the release of an e-book titled "Reply All", which consisted of 730 pages of self-selected e-mails that Bush sent and received during his tenure as Governor of Florida.

[40][41][42] Trump told CNN "the last thing we need is another Bush" in the White House after the much-criticized presidencies of his father and brother.

"[49] The ad showed mugshots of illegal immigrants who committed violent crimes in the U.S. interspersed with footage of Bush saying, "Yeah, they broke the law, but it's not a felony....

"[50][51] During the August 6, 2015 Republican presidential debate, Bush defended his "act of love" statement, saying, "I believe that the great majority of people coming here illegally have no other option.

[52] According to The Washington Post, the most telling aspect of the Bush–Trump duel may have been the fact that, "No candidate in the race was prepared for GOP voters' opposition to immigration, with the exception of Trump".

[53] Conservative political analyst Michael Barone pointed to Trump's two-pronged attack on Bush in the August Republican primary debate, for the "act of love" position on illegal immigration and for being weak, as a key moment in Trump's political rise.

[32] After a series of poor results in Iowa and New Hampshire, Bush spent his remaining money and campaign effort on the South Carolina primary.

[62] In an analysis of what went wrong, POLITICO argues that: His slow, awkward stumble from August through October encapsulates everything that caused the operation viewed as "Jeb!, Inc." to fail.

Ambassadors (former) Republican National Committee members (former) Statewide officials State legislators Mayors and other municipal leaders International Politicians Businesspeople Newspapers Celebrities, commentators, and activists In April 2016, Jeb!