"I would argue that Donald Trump is in fact a creature of Barack Obama," Bush said in an NPR radio interview published Thursday. "But for Barack Obama, Donald Trump's effect would not be nearly as strong as it is. "

Bush, a Trump rival in the GOP primary, contended that the billionaire businessman was taking advantage of political polarization made more stark by Obama's administration.

"We're living in a divided country right now and we need political leaders rather than continuing to divide us — as both President Obama and Donald Trump do — to unite us," he said.

The former Florida governor has sagged in the polls as Trump has surged to the top of the field. But Bush, whose comeback plan involves attacking the front-runner, argued to NPR's Steve Inskeep that Trump cannot win if Republican voters look for a candidate who could win the general election.