Watch CBS News

Jeb Bush: Donald Trump's shifting immigration policy is "abhorrent"

Former GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Thursday slammed Donald Trump for changing his policy positions, specifically on immigration.

In an interview with Rita Cosby on WABC, the former Florida governor was asked to react to Trump’s openness to softening his immigration proposals.

“I can’t comment on his views,” Bush said, “Because they seem to be ever-changing based on what crowd he’s in front of.”

Bush, whose immigration stances Trump explicitly criticized during the 2016 primary race, said that Trump now seems like a “typical politician” where “you get in front of one crowd and say one thing, and they say something else to another crowd that may want to hear a different view.”

“All the things that Donald Trump railed against, he seems to be morphing into,” Bush said. “It’s kind of disturbing.”

Bush supports securing the border and an e-verify system that includes visa reform. But as far as the 11 to 12 million undocumented people living in the U.S., he said, “...it’s just not feasible to deport every one of them as Donald Trump used to believe.”

He blasted Trump for acting like “this is all a game” and stressed again that “[Trump’s] views will change based on the feedback he gets from a crowd, or what he thinks he has to do.”

“I try to get to better at presenting my views, but shifting my views because it’s political to do it, that’s what politicians do in this country,” he said. “That’s what Trump is trying to do right now , and I find it abhorrent.”

While Trump has not spelled out how his policy proposal is shifting, he has hinted that his previous policy of deporting the 11 to 12 million undocumented people might change.

He said Wednesday that he plans “to announce something over the next two weeks” regarding immigration.

CBS News’ Donald Judd contributed to this report.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.