Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney recently admitted his doubts about Jeb Bush's ability to win the 2016 GOP nomination.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Romney recalled a meeting with the former Florida governor back in January 2015. They were both in Utah at that time and had the opportunity to discuss their respective chances for a presidential run.

Romney told Bush that he would have a hard time distinguishing, if not distancing, himself from his older brother George W. Bush, who forced the U.S. in two unpopular wars and left office while the country was at the height of a major economic recession.

Romney added that it would be very difficult for Jeb to compete against Hillary Clinton, separate himself from his brother's troubled administration and compare it with Bill Clinton's years.

A representative from the Bush camp responded by saying that the campaign would not comment on statements made during a confidential meeting. However, Romney revealed that Bush reacted to his concern by insisting that his campaign would be about the future and not about the past. The strategy hasn't worked well for the 2016 candidate thus far.

Despite having insisted back in February 2015 that he was his own man, Bush has repeatedly fallen into the trap of defending his brother's legacy on the campaign trail. He told TPM in September that George W. Bush kept the country safe after the 9/11 terror attacks. He also applauded his brother's anti-terror efforts and called it a "case study of leadership," per The Hill.

Jeb Bush has employed the services of several members of his brother's team to manage his 2016 campaign. He even said that he calls his brother for advice on foreign policy.

He is presently ranked near the bottom of the GOP field, garnering just three percent of the vote in a nationwide Monmouth University poll released in mid-December. The Bush camp expects Jeb's rating to rise starting this month as the campaign recently launched an aggressive TV and radio ad blitz.

According to the New York Times, Bush supporters went on the air in Iowa with an ad criticizing Marco Rubio over his Senate attendance record. Meanwhile, a New Hampshire commercial compared Bush's achievements as Florida's governor with Gov. Chris Christie's record in New Jersey and Gov. John R. Kasich's tenure in Ohio.

That no-holds-barred tactic is aligned with a strategy Right to Rise has been considering, a source close to the super-PAC told Politico. Jeb Bush's support committee could spend close to $75 million to carpet-bomb the presidential candidate's GOP rivals.