Jeb Bush appeared to take a subtle slap at President Donald Trump as he called out the "vulgar and toxic acts" in politics and urged Americans to reject them.
"What we accept in terms of the behavior of politicians is part of the challenge that we face," the former Florida governor said during an appearance at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, The Providence Journal reports.
"[Voters should] penalize rather than reward vulgar and toxic acts of discourse. You’re not riding a big horse, you’re not the big dog if you disparage the disabled or call someone a Nazi.
"Throwing this language out only divides us. It appeals to a very narrow base and I’m sure that narrow base thinks you’re really strong when you do it.”
While Bush did not call out Trump by name, the president has been involved in the controversies mentioned by him.
In 2016, Trump was accused of mocking the disabilities of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski during a campaign rally, an act he denied. And in a tweet last January, the president compared the leaking of what he said was “fake news” by U.S. intelligence agencies to Nazi Germany.
In his talk before students and faculty at the Ivy League school, Bush -- son of President George H.W. Bush and brother of President George W. Bush – also paid tribute to his mother Barbara Bush who died last week at the age of 92.
He said even though his appearance of Brown was just days after his mother’s funeral, he did dare skip it because she would “kick his butt.”
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