JEB’s Big Day, Includes Class-less Protestors

Jeb Bush finally made it official.

More than six months after the former Florida governor announced his intention to explore whether to seek the Republican party’s nomination for president – and more since former first lady Barbara Bush declared that the country had “had enough Bushes” – the son of one president and the younger brother of another announced his bid for the nation’s highest office.

“We are 17 months from the time for choosing. The stakes for America’s future are about as great as they come,” Bush said in a speech Monday at Miami Dade College, a largely Latino state school chosen to highlight the former governor’s record on education and his potential appeal to minority voters. “You and I know that America deserves better.”

“The presidency should not be passed on from one liberal to the next,” Bush added. “So, here’s what it comes down to. Our country is on a very bad course. And the question is: What are we going to do about it?”

Over the weekend, Bush released his campaign logo — “Jeb!” — essentially the same as the logo he used during his campaigns for governor of Florida, though this one does specify “2016.” It doesn’t include his last name, though the “b” in “Jeb” stands for “Bush,” as the acronym is actually his initials, John Ellis Bush.

But he was looking to put some distance between himself and his brother and father on Monday. Neither George W. Bush nor George H.W. Bush attended the announcement. Of the elder Bushes, only his mother, Barbara, who just turned 90, was in attendance. As he was speaking about his mother, protesters wearing shirts reading “Legal status is not enough!” interrupted the speech before being escorted out. Toward the beginning of Bush’s announcement, #NoMoreBushes also trended nationally on Twitter.

More From MSNBC-Andrea Mitchell: