Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday seemed to defend Donald Trump, his nemesis in the Republican presidential field, against Pope Francis’ claim that Trump’s desire to build a border wall is un-Christian.
“His Christianity is between he and his creator,” Bush told reporters during a campaign stop in Columbia, S.C.
But the former governor noted that Trump’s foreign policy, as it relates to the Islamic State, suggests “he’s not the right guy to be commander in chief.” Trump has previously said he would attack the oil fields in Iraq and Syria used by Islamic extremists and “bomb the sh-t” out of Islamic State-controlled territory.
While the Holy Father said that any person “who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be … is not Christian,” Bush appeared to support enhanced border security in the form of a Souther border wall.
“I support walls and fencing where it’s appropriate,” he said. “We should have a strategy to secure our border. That is clear. That is not an un-Christian thing to do, to make sure that people don’t come across our border illegally. That’s a just thing to do.”
The Catholic candidate followed up by saying that he respects the pope and “his voice will be heard.”
“He’s my spiritual leader,” Bush said. “As I’ve said on matters like global warming, I think it’s OK to get my guidance as a Catholic from the pope, but certainly not economic policy or environmental policy.”
Both Trump and Bush, as well as Ohio Gov John Kasich, are set to join CNN at 8 p.m. Thursday evening for the second part of the network’s GOP town hall series.
