Donald Trump is "morphing into" all the things he railed against when it comes to immigration, and his decision to shift his views on immigration in order to attract voters and political power is "abhorrent," former GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Thursday.
"Well, I can only say that whatever his views are this morning, they might change this afternoon, and they were different than they were last night, and they'll be different tomorrow," the former Florida governor told WABC Radio host Rita Cosby in an exclusive interview Thursday.
"So I can't comment on his views, because his views are, they seem to be ever, ever changing, depending on what crowd he's in front of."
"And that makes Trump sound like something he's railed against being, said Bush, "a typical politician."
"[He] sounds like a typical politician, by the way, where you get in front of one crowd and say one thing, and then say something else to another crowd that may want to hear a different view," Bush said. "All the things that Donald Trump railed against, he seems to be morphing into – it’s kind of disturbing.”
The Bush interview came just a few hours after MSNBC's "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough said he believed that Trump had adopted Bush's policies on immigration.
Trump on Wednesday told Fox News' Sean Hannity in a town hall meeting that he would be willing to "work with" undocumented immigrants living in the United States to allow them to stay, rather than ordering them to be deported. Trump also commented that he would not agree to a policy involving amnesty for people living illegally in the country.
Bush told Cosby he's not sure what to believe about the possibility that Trump is softening his hardline position on immigration.
"I don’t know what to believe about a guy who doesn't believe in things," Bush said. "I mean he doesn't. This is all a game. His views will change based on the feedback he gets from a crowd, or, you know, what he thinks he has to do."
Life is "too complex" to behave like that, said Bush.
"For me I couldn't do that," said the former governor, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race in February after a series of disappointing losses and setbacks.
"I have to believe what I believe, and if it’s popular, great, if it’s not, I try to get better at presenting my views. But shifting my views because, because it’s political to do it? That's what politicians do in this country, that's what Trump is trying to do right now. I find it abhorrent."
However, Bush said that it may be a good thing if Trump really is pulling back on his earlier campaign call to deport all of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, and that he's now reaching out to minority voters.
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"I'm happy he is making efforts to reach out to constituencies that Republicans have ignored," said Bush of Trump's latest speeches aimed at African American and Latino voters. "I think that's a very healthy thing for our party. It's a smart thing for him to do, if it's sincere."
Still, Bush told Cosby, he's not quite sure Trump's change of position will stick.
"His views on immigration, I can't comment on because we're talking in the morning of...this is Thursday morning right?" Bush said. "Tomorrow, it might be different."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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