Republican debate: Jeb Bush asks Donald Trump to apologize to Bush's wife; Trump refuses
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate asked Donald Trump to apologize to his wife, Columba Bush, for dragging her into a discussion over immigration. Trump, however, refused.
Trump previously charged that Bush's stance on immigration reform is weak because his wife Columba was born in Mexico. "If my wife were from Mexico, I think I would have a soft spot for people from Mexico," Trump said earlier.
Asked about this remark, Bush said, "To subject my wife into the middle of a raucous political conversation was completely inappropriate, and I hope you apologize for that."
Trump responded, "I won't do that because I said nothing wrong, but I hear she's a lovely woman."
Bush went on to praise his wife, calling her an American "by choice."
"She wants a secure border, but she wants to embrace the traditional American values that make us special and unique," he said. He added that he and his wife approach the "Reagan approach" to immigration reform, rather than the "Donald Trump approach... that says everything is bad."
Columba Bush added her two cents on Twitter:
I came to America because I love this country. @realDonaldTrump is wrong
— Columba (@ColumbaBush) September 17, 2015
Trump also repeated his criticism of Bush for speaking Spanish on the campaign trail. "This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish," Trump said on the debate stage.
Bush responded, "The simple fact is if a high school kid asks me a question in Spanish... I'm going to show respect and answer that question in Spanish, even though they do speak English and embrace American values."