Two days ahead of the official start to his presidential campaign, Jeb Bush told reporters here Saturday that he’ll try to persuade voters by being authentic.
“I’m going to be who I am,” he said, wrapping up a five-day tour in Europe. “I respect people who may not agree with me, but I’m not going to change my views because today someone has a view that’s different. I think candidates have a duty to persuade. That’s what this is about. It’s about the power of ideas and then giving people a sense that you have leadership skills to actually make it so.
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“We’ve had a drought of actually doing things in Washington,” he added.
Bush also discussed the booming high tech industry in Estonia, a country where people can vote, pay taxes and get health care information online. He described the country’s technological dependence as a “moonshot kind of thinking,” and said the U.S. lagged behind because Bush feels Americans have a greater skepticism of government.
“There is a high level of trust with the (Estonian) government and that their data will be protected,” Bush said. “How we restore trust in government is going to be a great challenge for the next president, for sure.”
Bush, who has long been eyed as a presidential candidate, is expected to officially announce his candidacy on Monday.