Jeb Bush: Huckabee’s Holocaust ‘Oven’ Comment ‘Is Just Wrong’

Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, answers questions from the audience at a Central Florida pastors meet and greet, Monday, July 27, 2015, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on Monday chastised former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) for invoking the Holocaust to criticize the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran.

Huckabee made headlines over the weekend for saying the President “will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven,” in reference to the impact he thinks the agreement will have on Israel.

“The use of that kind of language is just wrong,” Bush told reporters after a town-hall meeting in Orlando, Florida, as quoted by The New York Times. “This is not the way we’re going to win elections and that’s not how we’re going to solve problems. So, unfortunate remark — not quite sure why he felt compelled to say it.”

Then Bush took another, veiled shot at his presidential rival, who frequently visits Israel and led tours of the country costing as much as $5,250 per person.

“Look, I’ve been to Israel, not as many times as Mike Huckabee,” Bush said before adding “who I respect,” according to the Times.

It’s not the first time Bush, one of the more moderate candidates in the Republican field, has called for other candidates to tone down their rhetoric. After real estate mogul Donald Trump made disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants, Bush, whose wife was born in Mexico, said he took the comments personally and accused Trump of trying to “inflame and incite and to draw attention” to his campaign.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: