Bush Cuts Costs, Carson Eclipses Trump in Iowa and G.O.P. Frets
Some Bush strategists grumbled about what they described as an excessively large infrastructure at the headquarters. One department that will be particularly thinned out, advisers said, is the group of video producers and editors, called “Jeb TV,” that was assembled for what had been a robust digital effort.
.. “This means lean and mean, and it means that I have the ability to adapt,” he said, pointing to Mr. Trump’s unexpected rise. “Every dollar we can save in overhead is a dollar that goes on television, goes on radio, goes on media, goes on voter outreach.”
.. Whether Mr. Trump will now start spending heavily from his personal fortune on his campaign, as he has said he would do, remains unclear: He has donated roughly $1.9 million of his own money, and he has yet to spend on television.
.. A focus group of Republicans in Indianapolis this week, conducted for the nonpartisan Annenberg Public Policy Center, called Mr. Trump “self-serving” and “disturbing.” In contrast, Mr. Carson was called “wise” and “a gentleman.”