“There are a lot of talkers in politics,” Bush said. “Trust me. I was on the debate stage. I see it: some really good people that are really good talkers. I hope you want someone with a servant’s heart that acts on principle. That does things, rather than just talks about them.”

Bush’s campaign has been struggling for months. The graveness of the situation became tangible last week when layoffs and salary cuts were instigated by his campaign, and word went out that the candidate and his staff would focus more on early-voting states like Iowa.

Bush told Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin that speculation in the media and elsewhere that his bid for the Oval Office could end soon is far off base. “They don’t know me,” he said. “I eat nails when I wake up, then I have breakfast.”