Trump is half as good as Cruz but twice as good as everyone else.
Ultimately Trump appears to be sticking his finger in the wind and supporting what most of the public wants. The public is far more conservative on immigration than our government is now, so Trump’s right on that. The public wants absolutely no social security or medicare reform though, which is why early on Trump said he wouldn’t change those programs at all. Trump doesn’t seem to know what to say on the same-sex marriage/religious liberty issue because it’s a 50/50 issue in the polls.
It’s pure speculation whether Bush would be top of the polls now without Trump. Romney had a lot of challengers that pushed him out of the top many times. Other candidates are higher than Bush now besides Trump. Without Trump in, his support may have gone to Cruz or others, not Bush.
Trump is willing to criticize everybody who challenges his position at the top. He isn’t just targetting RINOs. He would rip a conservative like Cruz too if Cruz started getting close to him in the polls. I thought he was a great campaigner, but am surprised that he made the comment about Carly in Rolling Stone. That was a totally unforced error. It directly led to her hurting him in the debate and her rising in the polls. That lack of discipline is very worrisome and troubling in a candidate and could be a major handicap in the general election.
Trump is not a politician and makes non politician mistakes but he is learning fast. You may think it is speculation to suppose Jeb would be leading minus Trump but by their actions the GOP-E shows they don’t agree with you. The GOP establishment planned to use the same model with Jeb that they used to get Romney nominated. They encouraged a crowded field to dilute the vote and allow Jeb to “run against the base” and win. The GOP-E tilted the field for Jeb by changing the primary rules this time around to make his money advantage even more of a factor. The only thing that prevents a Jeb nomination from happening is somebody with more money available getting in and upsetting that plan. Trump did that. I submit that most of the venom you see being unleashed on Trump from the GOP-E and their media minions is due to the realization that they have lost control of the process. They are showing you by their reaction who worries them the most and it is not Cruz. That should be a clue to all.