Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush stated that he doesn’t want to ban Muslim refugees from Syria from coming into the US and the answer “is not to ban people from coming,” but that “if there’s any kind of concern” that comes up during screening, “we shouldn’t allow people in” in an interview broadcast on Tuesday’s edition of Bloomberg TV’s “With All Due Respect.”
Jeb said, “I’ve had this view for a long while that religious minorities, in the Middle East, and around the world are deserving of our support, because but for us, who? So, I believe that we should take a stand to help people, in Mosul, mass is no longer given, no longer said after 1,400-1,500 years. The Yazidis are being exterminated. You have enslavement, beheadings, the brutality of Islamic terrorism is such that I think we do have a duty to act.”
He added, “There’s no discrimination to simply say that you want to protect religious minorities that are being exterminated. The solution, as it relates to the innocents in Syria, in Iraq, is to create a strategy to destroy ISIS, and to bring about change as it relates to the Assad regime. That’s where American leadership needs to be played. If we’re just responding to a crisis by our inaction of creating an overflow of refugees, I mean, that’s not an answer. That’s just once again, reacting to events that you didn’t help try to deter.”
Jeb was asked about governors who refused to admit Syrian refugees and fellow candidate Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s bill to ban Muslim Syrian refugees from admission, he responded, “I haven’t seen the bill, and I think people are legitimately concerned about the efficiency, the competency of the Obama administration, as it relates to, screening processes. But we have systems in place, we should, if there’s any kind of concern, we shouldn’t allow people in. But I don’t think we should eliminate our support for refugees. It’s been a noble tradition in our country.”
When asked if he wants to ban Muslim refugees, Jeb answered, “I don’t. The answer to this, though, is not to ban people from coming. The answer is to lead, to resolve the problem in Syria. That’s the ultimate answer. And that’s my focus.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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