Republican front-runner Donald Trump hopes that fellow GOP candidate Jeb Bush will come to view illegal immigration as more than an “act of love” during his trip to the Southern border.
Bush is slated to host a fundraising luncheon and meet with border security personnel in McAllen, Texas, on Monday before touring the U.S.-Mexico border. Last April, the former Florida governor spurred controversy after describing the decision by many immigrants to enter the U.S. unlawfully as an “act of love.”
“[T]hey wanted to make sure their family was intact, and they crossed the border because they had no other means to work to be able to provide for their family,” Bush reportedly said. “Yes, they broke the law, but it’s not a felony. It’s an act of love. It’s an act of commitment to your family.”
Trump lauded Bush’s visit to the border in a rare moment of praise Monday, but didn’t stop short of taking a jab at the former governor for his aforementioned remarks about illegal immigration.
“I think it’s great that he’s going to the border because I think he’ll now find out that it is not an act of love,” Trump told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” during a phone interview Monday. “I was down on the border; it’s rough tough stuff. This is not love, it’s other things going on.”
Shortly after discussing Bush, the New York billionaire mentioned two of his other GOP opponents: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
“Right now I’m against 16 other people, of which you probably gave four who have a real chance,” Trump said. “You know the amazing thing, everybody that has attacked me – you look at Perry, you look at this guy Lindsey Graham – I mean vicious attacks … they all went down to zero and now they’re getting out of the race.”
“It’s one of the greatest honors I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “Everybody who attacks me goes down to zero.”
The real estate magnate has wrangled with Perry, Graham, and Bush over immigration since jumping into the presidential race.
According to RealClearPolitics’ polling average, he currently leads the pack of 16 Republican candidates in national primary polls and in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
