HAMPTON, New Hampshire — Jeb Bush got ahead of his own campaign during a town hall Thursday night when he announced his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, has filmed a television ad that will begin airing soon in New Hampshire.
“I didn’t know the campaign was doing it,” Bush said during the town hall. “She’s going to be on the air coming up here at some point, tomorrow I think — paid advertising by the campaign.”
On Friday, the Bush campaign posted a 30 second video clip of the candidate’s mother saying, “Jeb has real solutions, rather than talk about how popular they are, how great they are– he’s doing it because he sees a huge need and it’s not being filled by anybody.”
The campaign says that video will run digitally only for the time being, but that it “could” begin airing on television “soon.”
Bush’s comment about his mother in New Hampshire came as the candidate answered yet another question from voters about his family — calling it a “typical process question” — while saying: “I’m a 62-year-old man that has a life experience, people are going to vote for me.”
Asked later about the announcement by reporters, Bush tried to laugh off the news, saying, “Did I say that? I said it out loud?” while playing coy about his mother’s message or even if he’s seen the spot.
“I shouldn’t have told you — I guess you should have waited and seen what it looks like tomorrow with me,” he said,
“It’s good to get an endorsement from your mother,” Bush said. “I don’t think she was prepared to endorse anyone else, but it’s a nice validation just in case people were wondering.”
The family topic isn’t new for Bush, who has confronted the issue of his pedigree since the start of his campaign. However, the topic now comes up with greater frequency with voters during town hall events.
The former Florida governor also said it’s still a “work in progress” as to when his brother, former President George W. Bush, will appear on the campaign trail but told voters to expect it.
“I’m sure my brother is going to be campaigning by my side, all that stuff is going to happen,” he said.
Asked where the former president might appear, the candidate was noncommittal but touted his brother’s popularity in early voting states, adding, “He’s the most popular Republican in the country.” Bush now seems perfectly aware that there’s no escaping his famous last name. “There are people who think it’s a little odd for a third Bush to be president of the United States,” he said. “The expectations on me are higher because of that.” However, dealing with that issue is a balance. “You can’t ignore them because that’s weird, I mean that’s kind of a strange thing,” he said. “You can’t over rely on them either.” This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com
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