Washington – Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush says he is personally offended by rival Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Mexico and immigrants and calls the remarks far outside the mainstream of Republican thought.
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“I don’t think he represents the Republican Party, and his views are way out of the mainstream of what Republicans think,” Bush told reporters after marching in Fourth of July parades in Amherst and Merrimack, New Hampshire.
“No one suggests that we shouldn’t control our borders – everybody has a belief that we should control our borders,” he said. “But to make these extraordinarily ugly kind of comments is not reflective of the Republican Party. Trump is wrong on this.”
Bush’s wife was born in Mexico, and when he was asked if he took Trump’s remarks personally, he responded: “Yeah, of course. Absolutely. And a lot of other people as well.”
When Trump announced his presidential bid last month, he criticized Mexico and immigrants who come to the U.S. illegally. “They’re bringing drugs,” he said. “They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
In spite of earlier criticism from Bush and other Republicans and companies moving to cut business ties to Trump, the real estate mogul has defended his remarks.
Wow, finally a Republican candidate denouncing Trump. That took a while!