Trump bites back at Bush over border

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump said this weekend that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s (R) immigration stance is not in sync with everyday Americans.

“Today, Jeb Bush once again proves that he is out of touch with the American people, Trump said in a statement Saturday evening.

{mosads}“Just like the simple question asked of Jeb on Iraq — where it took him five days and multiple answers to get right — he doesn’t understand anything about the border or border security,” he said.

“In fact, Jeb believes illegal immigrants who break our laws when they cross our border come ‘out of love,’ ” Trump added.

Trump accused Bush of distorting his rhetoric concerning Hispanic immigrants on the campaign trail.

“Jeb is only mischaracterizing my statements to inflame,” he said. “As everybody knows, I never said that all Mexicans crossing the border are rapists.”

“I am very proud to be fighting for a strong and secure border,” Trump added.

“This is a very important issue which all the other candidates would have ignored had I not started this important discussion.”

Bush had sharply criticized Trump’s language on the issue of illegal immigration earlier on Saturday.

“I don’t think he represents the Republican Party, and his views are way outside the mainstream of what Republicans think,” he said after two Independence Day parades in New Hampshire.

“No one suggests that we shouldn’t control our borders,” Bush said. “Everybody has a belief that we should control our borders.”

“But to make these extraordinarily ugly kind of comments is not reflective of the Republican Party,” Bush added. “Trump is wrong on this.”

Trump provoked public backlash on June 16 by strongly attacking Hispanic immigrants and Mexico.

“They’re sending people who have a lot of problems,” he said. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

Bush and Trump currently command the highest polling numbers among New Hampshire’s Republican primary voters.