Bush condemns Trump claims about American Muslims celebrating after 9/11
SPARTANBURG, South Carolina -- Jeb Bush condemned Donald Trump's claim that Arab Americans in New Jersey were seen celebrating in the aftermath the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"This is just wrong," Bush told reporters after a Tuesday afternoon campaign event in Spartanburg, South Carolina, "There wasn't any cheering. That would have been on television. That would have been recorded."
He went on to call Trump's charge an "attack on people that are American as anybody else." Bush was the governor of Florida at the time of the 9/11 attacks. "What I remember was a lot of peaceful Muslims that were disheartened and aggrieved and sad, and angry, just as every other American was, as well." Later Tuesday, at a rally in Myrtle Beach, Trump repeated the claim.
On Tuesday in an interview on Fox News, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said, "If that had happened, I'd recall it, and I don't."
Ohio Governor John Kasich also criticized Trump over the assertion about Muslim Americans Monday in an interview with Ohio's WEWS-TV, "to just call out a certain group of people I just think is not responsible....This country is too good for this."
In response to a question from reporters, Bush also had a harsh critique of the treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters at Trump's rallies. "I'm not trying to prey on their fears," he stated, "Look, you don't see that happening at mine. I'm trying to inspire people that life can get better." Referring to reports of protesters being hit by attendees, Bush said, "Of course I would try to stop it. If I could do it physically I would."
Tuesday's South Carolina campaign stops marked the fourth time in four weeks that Bush has come through the Palmetto state, an indication of the state's importance in his campaign strategy. It comes at a time when his numbers are dismal in the key early state of Iowa where his support is 4 percent, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.