Jeb Bush had no role in a memo urging Republicans to avoid using the term “anchor baby,” an aide says after Donald Trump tied Bush to the document on Friday.
As Bush spars with reporters over his use of the term and testily defends it, questions about his role in the memo have come to the fore.
In 2013, the Hispanic Leadership Network put out a memo advising candidates to not use “anchor baby.” Bush was on the national committee of the now-disbanded centrist conservative group and was a co-chairman at the time the memo went out.
Trump seized on the news on Friday, blasting his rival on Twitter.
However, there were no signatories on the memo.
Bush responded in kind Friday, ripping Trump as not representing conservative immigration policies.
The former Florida governor was not involved in the memo and was not aware of it at the time, a campaign aide said following Trump’s attack.
Immigration has been a central facet of the Republican primary, and with several candidates advocating for limiting birthright citizenship, conversation about “anchor babies” has come along with it.
