The unconventional candidacy of Donald Trump is a "creature" of President Barack Obama's divisive administration, Jeb Bush contends.
In an interview with
National Public Radio posted Thursday, the former Florida governor says the president is "so out to touch" with "what blue-collared, white voters" think.
"I would argue that Donald Trump is in fact a creature of Barack Obama," Bush said. "But for Barack Obama, Donald Trump's effect would not be nearly as strong as it is."
"People are legitimately angry with Washington, D.C.," Bush declared. "And, yes, Mr. President, they're legitimately angry with you. You have divided the country up in all sorts of disparate parts."
Bush also condemned some of the more controversial remarks of his front-running rival, including his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.
"Trump clearly banning all Muslims would actually be so counterproductive in our efforts to destroy ISIS that it's foolhardy," he said. "I mean, it's beyond ridiculous; it's quite dangerous."
And though Trump's provocative comments haven't hurt his polling — he's the dominate leader in an average of national polling by
Real Clear Politics, while Bush is in sixth place — Bush asserts that
will change when balloting begins in caucuses and at polls in February in early states Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — where he's
deploying much of his Miami staff.
"In a month from now they won't [agree]. That's the point," Bush said.
"The point is that we're living in this reality-TV kind of political environment, where [Trump] fills the space by saying outrageous things," he said.
"People based on their emotions will express support for the sentiment, not necessarily the specifics, because there are none, and then he'll backtrack. And he'll move on to the next thing, and he fills the space."
"I think the emotion of the here and now will subside," Bush said.
"Are people scared about the national security interests of our country being violated because of a lax immigration system or a visa waiver program that wasn't designed for people being radicalized? Yes, they're scared, and the job of a president — or a candidate, for that matter — isn't to scare them more; it's to give them solutions, and that's what I'm trying to do."
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