Wednesday on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) offered his thoughts on President Barack Obama’s speech at the Islamic Society of Baltimore earlier in the day.
Bush praised Obama for making speech, despite having not seen it. The former Florida governor called it important and appropriate.
Partial transcript as follows:
HEWITT: And one more non-political question before we talk about the map. The President of the United States today went to a mosque. He gave a very good speech. It was a superb speech, actually, one that argued for religious tolerance, reminded people of various persecutions of religious minorities in our history, reminded them of our Muslim allies around the world. You know, I don’t give him compliments very often, but he did a very good job today. Do you think he’s taken a page from your brother’s book on this?
BUSH: If it was a good speech, I’m happy, because I think it’s important for the president to lead in this regard. And my brother did it much earlier in his tenure than Barack Obama’s done it in the eighth year. And I’m not quite sure he avoided doing this, but it was appropriate to do it. And sometimes, you have to give someone credit for a job well done. I haven’t seen the speech, but it’s important. Look, when you have a candidate for president that says we’re going to ban all Muslims coming into the country, the implications of that are horrific as it relates to our national security. But it also sends a signal to the millions of peaceful Muslims that are as American as you and I. And I think it’s important for people to know that they have worth, that they have value, that we’re all, you know, we’re all American. And we should target our energies to defeat radical Islam and the radicalization of people. We need to be kept safe, but you can do that by being respectful of people of the Muslim faith as well.
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