In this Nov. 6, 2006, file photo, President George W. Bush jokes with his brother Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in Pensacola, Fla., where the president was drumming up support for local Republican candidates.

George W. Bush never mentioned Donald Trump. But with his folksy touch, the former president unleashed a tough takedown of the billionaire businessman who has upended the Republican Party.

“I understand Americans are angry and frustrated,” Bush said Monday during his first campaign rally for his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. “But we do not need somebody in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration.”

Trump’s rise has confounded the Bush family and its allies. And Jeb Bush’s White House hopes are in peril, particularly if he’s unable to pull out a strong showing in Saturday’s South Carolina primary. Trump has led polls in South Carolina, where Republicans face their next primary. He is trying to fend off attacks from his chief rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who describes himself as “a consistent conservative.”

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