Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) distanced himself from comments made by former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), his competitor in the Republican presidential primary, regarding the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran, although he shares Huckabee’s criticism for the deal itself.
As Breitbart News reported, in an appearance this weekend on Breitbart News Saturday, Huckabee made a Holocaust reference in his comments about the Iran deal:
Governor Huckabee didn’t pull any punches when talking about Obama’s Iran nuclear deal: “This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven. This is the most idiotic thing, this Iran deal. It should be rejected by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress and by the American people. I read the whole deal. We gave away the whole store. It’s got to be stopped.”
These comments caused an uproar. Overseas, President Obama used Huckabee’s words to attack the Republican Party as “ridiculous” and “sad.”
At a campaign stop in Orlando Monday morning, Bush was asked about Huckabee’s comments by a reporter. The following is a transcript of the exchange, as provided to Breitbart News by the Bush campaign:
QUESTION: Another Republican presidential candidate said some interesting
things just kind of about the Iran deal, Governor Huckabee saying that the
President in essence is leading Israel to the gates of the oven. I know
you’ve been concerned about tone in this campaign, I know you don’t like
the Iran deal.GOV. BUSH: The Iran deal is horrific and it creates far more dangers and
problems than it solves. I think we need to tone down the rhetoric for
sure. Look, I’ve been to Israel, not as many times as Mike Huckabee, who I
respect, but the use of that kind of language, its just wrong. This is not
the way we’re going to win elections and that’s not how we’re going to
solve problems. So, unfortunate remark, I’m not quite sure why he felt
compelled to say it, having said that, this is the bad deal and I can see
why people are angry about it.
Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter @rumpfshaker.
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