Entertainment

Stephen Colbert Thinks Jeb Bush's Campaign Logo Needs A Punctuation Change — VIDEO

by Mara Flanagan

A major change to a presidential campaign could be in the works. Jeb Bush may be dropping the exclamation point from his campaign name after he let the trademark run out on "Jeb!" in November, according to the Week. Luckily, Stephen Colbert has some ideas for Jeb's new campaign name logo.

From early on in the race, Bush's campaign aimed to harness voter enthusiasm. As the assumed-frontrunner among GOP candidates, Bush had a lot of momentum behind him and plenty of reasons to be hopeful. According to The Washington Times, Jeb! appeared for the first time in June 2015. The campaign logo — the candidate's first name followed by an exclamation point — appeared in the same month that Donald Trump announced he was running for president.

Bush told Colbert in an interview that he adopted the punctuation because it "connotes excitement," but it wasn't a popular decision. In the months that followed, Bush's campaign took plenty of flack for for the design choice at the same time the former governor of Florida started to fall in the polls. Now that the new year is starting, it may be time for an image adjustment. On The Late Show, Colbert reported that Bush's campaign allowed the trademark application of "Jeb!" to lapse in November. It suggests that the candidate may be planning on a change. When Will Ferrell returned to Saturday Night Live in December to reprise his role as George W. Bush, he poked fun at the spelling choice:

Of course, I wish he would've asked me about the exclamation point on the end of his name. Look, I don't like the taste of broccoli, but it doesn't get any tastier if you call it "broccoli!"

According to The Washington Post, Mother Jones first caught that the trademark application had lapsed. Though Jeb! still appears the same way on the campaign's website, the media is already celebrating the potential switch-up. GQ's Jack Moore wrote a celebratory article, "So Long, Exclamation Point in 'Jeb!'" The Washington Post opted for a less tactful title: "If you want to make no money, you can apparently now sell Jeb! merchandise."

The exclamation point may not be the best fit for Bush's campaign going forward, but Colbert isn't one to leave a candidate hanging. He offered four suggestions that may be Bush's ticket to the White House. Bush hasn't formally dropped the exclamation point yet, but fingers crossed he'll go with one of Colbert's ideas when he chooses a replacement logo.

Colbert first offered the question mark as a potential replacement for the exclamation point. Rather than connoting excitement, it supplies a generous dose of voter uncertainty. In Colbert's words, "Jeb? Would that be good?"

Next, he tried a comma, saying, "It makes Jeb Bush seem like he's just the first in a series, a long list, of awesome stuff." Colbert's list included "ice cream" and "dragons," but supporters can just tack their favorite things on to the end.

The semicolon is a more unexpected choice. As Colbert says, "It's perfect for Jeb, because you know it's smart, but you're not sure what it does or where it belongs."

There's also the option to take out the letters altogether. Colbert says, "Something tells me that when he looks at how well Donald Trump is doing, that's what Jeb yells."

Colbert gives Jeb one last option: the asterisk. Want to know why? Watch the full video here:

The takeaway: never trust a comedian as a campaign consultant.

Images: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube (6)