Jeb Bush on Tuesday accused businessman Donald Trump of trying to “create a grievous kind of culture,” laying into the Republican presidential front-runner for his remarks about Black Lives Matter protesters and Muslim Americans.
“Our country is too good for this,” Bush told reporters after a campaign stop in South Carolina.
“This whole idea of preying on people’s deep-seated fears of what the future looks like is not going to work as a campaign tactic over the long haul,” the former Florida governor said.
Asked about a Black Lives Matter protester being physically roughed up by crowd members while he was from a Trump event last week, Bush said that would never happen at one of his events.
“Of course I would try to stop it. If I could do it physically, I would,” Bush said.
Trump later suggested the man deserved the rough treatment.
Bush also lambasted Trump for claiming several times in recent days that thousands of Muslim Americans in New Jersey cheered the attacks of September 11, 2001.
“This is just wrong,” Bush said. “What I remember was a lot of peaceful Muslims disheartened and sad and angry.”
He said Trump is making a “broad-brush attack on people who are as American as anybody else. It’s not gonna work.”
Bush and Trump have repeatedly butted heads during the 2016 Republican presidential nominating contest — with Trump labeling Bush “low energy” as polls show the GOP electorate favors the bombastic real estate mogul, despite Bush’s backing from establishment party figures.