Jeb Bush, Donald Trump unapologetic for ‘anchor baby’ language

“He was a Democrat longer in the last decade than he was a Republican“, Bush said. But Democrats are pouncing on his use of the term – which many find offensive – to paint him as disingenuous. The Clintons attended his most recent wedding. Trump told me he’s prepared to counter Bush’s ad buy with “whatever it takes”.

She later retweeted the same thing, but in Spanish.

In many ways, Bush has become an underdog in this race – albeit a well-financed one. Bush, he says, had the opportunity to take the higher ground, apologize and correct himself – and it’s a shame he didn’t.

2016 Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Jeb Bush faced off at dueling town hall events in New Hampshire, capping a day of campaigning in the early-voting state.

Trump first used the term during an interview with Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly on Tuesday while discussing whether an amendment to the constitution would help deal with immigration reform. “He got flustered, as he is apt to do when reporters listen more to his words than his intentions”, he argues.

“I don’t see how he’s electable”, Trump said of Bush Wednesday night in New Hampshire, later describing him as a “low-energy person” who has trouble getting things done. He said he did not and that he was not using the term as his own language but mentioned it as a phrase commonly used by others. Users of the term and critics of birthright citizen allege that the child is an anchor baby because they can sponsor their parents for citizenship, though law prevents them from doing so until they turn 21. Trump has insisted he would keep using anchor baby and said suggestions that it is offensive are simply political correctness. The Washington Post’s Robert Costa reports that the flyover was paid for by the pro-Bush super PAC, Right to Rise. “It’s signaling and…it’s kind of triggering images that people may really not want to get into expressly”.

The move to more hot rhetoric may have tripped Bush up, though.

“That’s disgusting if it’s the case”, Bush said of the alleged beating.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, who invited Bush to speak at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference earlier this year in Houston, condemned the word with passion, calling it “reprehensible”.

Why are “anchor babies” in the news? “These are babies created in the image of God”.

And the real irony is that even after entering the political peril of using the phrase, he still will not oppose birthright citizenship. “You win when you connect with people about their aspirations, not about how great you are, how rich you are, or how this you are or how that you are”, he said. Politics that Jeb Bush is “keeping his place and showing that he is different from the family name, that he has his own distinct record”. “Don’t use the term “anchor baby”.

“You know what’s happening to Jeb’s crowd, right down the street?”

These aren’t small donors – they’re millionaires, billionaires, major CEOs and former ambassadors.

Other candidates have embraced hitting Trump.

Here’s a theory to ponder: after the first round of dropouts, in which Rick Perry’s impending demise is joined by several others – Christie, George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, Jim Gilmore, perhaps Bobby Jindal – the likely beneficiary will be the candidate best suited to pull their voters. “They come for opportunity, they give back so much to this country, they make it vibrant, they make it economically a powerhouse in the world and here we have presidential candidates – these are people who want the top spot in the land… and using a term that is so vile”.