George W. Bush to campaign with Jeb in South Carolina

Big brother is watching -- and now, in George W. Bush`s case, campaigning.

The former US president will stump for his younger brother in South Carolina Monday as struggling candidate Jeb Bush seeks to shore up support in a state he sees as a lynchpin of his potential comeback in the Republican nomination race.

"Honored to have my brother joining me on the trail this week. Join us Monday in Charleston," Jeb Bush posted on Twitter Thursday, referring to next week`s rally in the southern city.

It will be the first time that the ex-commander in chief campaigns with Jeb at a public event since the former governor of Florida launched his presidential bid last June.

The older brother remains an intensely divisive figure in American politics, having presided over the US invasion of Iraq after the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001 and an economy that turned sharply south near the end of his second term.

The appearance will come almost one year to the day that Jeb, addressing his family legacy and seeking to ease concerns that he might be influenced by his powerful relatives, announced that "I`m my own man, and my views are shaped by my own thinking and my own experiences."

Since leaving the White House in January 2009, George W. Bush has maintained a relatively low profile, and his poor approval rating has steadily improved.

Last June, a CNN poll showed 52 percent of Americans had a favorable impression of the former president.

South Carolina, where Jeb and his five Republican rivals are fiercely competing in their next nominations contest February 20, may be friendly territory. In 2000, George W. Bush won the state`s primary with 53 percent of the vote.

Jeb Bush is hoping for a stronger showing than the fourth-place finish in Tuesday`s primary in New Hampshire, where he campaigned with his popular mother Barbara Bush, the wife of former president George H.W. Bush.

Bush the candidate went on the attack Thursday against blustery Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

"I`m the only guy who`s got the you-know-what to go after him," Bush said, according to Politico.