Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) said Wednesday that he rejects fellow GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s memory of Muslim Americans celebrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“I don’t believe it happened,” he told host Alisyn Camerota on CNN’s “New Day.” “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I know many Muslims who were just as angry and saddened as we were.
“He says these things to prey on people’s fears,” Bush added of Trump. “He’s not a serious leader.”
Bush then said he would outlast Trump to win the Republican nomination next year.
“I can become president [and] I have the skills to do it,” he said. “I am confident that I am going to win the Republican nomination. People are going to look at who has the skills, the talent, the heart and the spine.”
“I can beat Hillary Clinton.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed he remembers thousands of people in parts of New Jersey with large Muslim populations cheering the fall of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
He has since touted the strength of his memory during the incident while calling from an apology from his critics.
“I want an apology,” he tweeted Monday. “Many people have tweeted that I am right.”
Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.), another 2016 Republican White House hopeful, said earlier this week he has no recollection of the events Trump describes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), meanwhile, has challenged the veracity of the outspoken billionaire’s narrative.
“I don’t know where Mr. Trump gets his evidence,” the 2016 Democratic presidential contender said Monday. “I have not heard any evidence of this happening.
“There’s nothing more than I would enjoy than the chance to take on Donald Trump and to expose the many fabrications that he has brought forth.”
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
