Associated Press
Jeb Bush took aim at fellow Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Tuesday, criticizing his “rhetoric of divisiveness.”
Speaking to more than 100 people at a restaurant in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the former Florida governor said the Republican Party should focus on bringing people together.
“Whether it is Donald Trump or Barack Obama, their rhetoric of divisiveness is wrong. A Republican will never win by striking fear in people’s hearts,” Bush said.
Trump, the outspoken reality television star, has been critical of Bush recently. Last week Trump called Bush “a joke” for suggesting that Mexican immigrants cross the border illegally as “an act of love.”
Talking to reporters on his last stop on a two-day swing through Iowa, Bush said that Republicans should be optimistic and offer people hope for a better life.
“Mr. Trump has every right to have every belief he has. He’s going to run, that’s fine,” Bush said. “But I don’t want to be associated with the kind of vitriol that he’s spewing out these days.”
In his prepared remarks, Bush touted his record of cutting taxes and increasing jobs as Florida governor, stressed his plans to increase border security and criticized the Iranian nuclear deal.
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
