Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush believes President Obama is the reason why so many people have become Donald Trump supporters.
“I would argue that Donald Trump is in fact a creature of Barack Obama,” the former Florida governor said in an interview aired Thursday on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” “But for Barack Obama, Donald Trump’s effect would not be nearly as strong as it is.”
“We’re living in a divided country right now, and we need political leaders, rather than continuing to divide as both President Obama and Donald Trump, to unite us,” he added.
Bush also said that when it comes voting time in a month — i.e. the Iowa caucuses — Republican voters will not support Trump’s idea to stop Muslim immigrants from coming into the United States.
“In a month from now [those voters] won’t [agree with him],” he said. “That’s the point. The point is, that we’re living in this reality TV political environment where [Trump] fills the space by saying outrageous things.”
The plan would fall apart on many grounds, from constitutional ones to humanitarian ones.
“People, based on their emotions, will express support for the sentiment, not necessarily the specifics, because there are none and then he’ll backtrack,” he added, saying that banning Muslims from entering into the country “counterproductive in our efforts to destroy” the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“I mean, it’s beyond ridiculous, it’s quite dangerous,” he added.
Bush and Trump have been in a back-and-forth now for months in an attempt to secure the Republican presidential nomination. Trump has gotten the better of that battle, leading a RealClearPolitics average of polls with 35.6 percentage points. Bush trails in sixth place with 4.4 percentage points.
Listen to the full interview above.
