Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush told
Newsmax TV on Friday that rival Marco Rubio "cut and ran" on immigration, saying that he rejected the Gang of Eight bill he co-sponsored after facing strong resistance from conservatives.
"I wasn't a sponsor of a bill that he crafted, but for his involvement it wouldn't have passed the Senate," the former Florida governor told "Newsmax Now" hosts J.D. Hayworth and John Bachman. "Then, when the going got tough, he abandoned the bill.
"That was basically the problem. Put aside the issue — the question of why are you here to serve is not to forge consensus and solve problems — and he ran away from it.
"The difference between me and him is that I don't run away from things," Bush said, distinguishing himself from the junior Florida senator. "I go right to the challenge."
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He told Newsmax that the fight between Rubio and Ted Cruz over whether either supported amnesty for illegal immigrants underscored the "dysfunction of Washington."
"Effectively, they're arguing about amendments to a bill that didn't pass," Bush said. "This is the problem of the dysfunction of Washington.
"They're not really talking about real things," he added. "They're talking about things that don't exist in the real world."
In other comments in his exclusive Newsmax interview, Bush said that:
- The Washington establishment and the media have a different standard for Rubio. "I have higher expectations on myself than others do. It doesn't bother me a bit."
- Ben Carson is a "man of incredible stability" and that his supporters should consider him as an alternative. "He doesn't year people down to make himself look good."
- Donald Trump cannot be trusted to nominate a successor to Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia because he does not represent a "consistent conservative view."
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