Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday accused Donald Trump of playing to people’s fears by warning that “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey were celebrating the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Appearing on CNN’s “New Day,” Bush said he doesn’t believe a celebration along those lines took place, and said it’s another instance of Trump trying to “prey on people’s fears” and “anger.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t believe it happened,” Bush said of Trump’s claims. “I know many Muslims that were just as angry and saddened by the attack on our country. I don’t believe it.”
“Look, Donald Trump says these things to prey on people’s fears, their anger, their frustration with Washington. He is quite effective at it,” said Bush, who is in fifth place in the Washington Examiner’s latest power rankings. “But he doesn’t know what he is talking about, and he is not a serious leader.”
“We are living in difficult times. We need serious leadership to be able to solve the problems that we have domestically and lead America around the world so that we can create peace and security for ourselves,” Bush said.
For three days, Trump has been repeating his claim that “thousands and thousands” of Muslims celebrated the attacks across the Hudson River in New Jersey, a claim he first made on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
