2016 Presidential Candidates Push Back On Donald Trump’s Immigration Declaration

Donald Trump’s declaration as a presidential candidate isn’t going away, and people aren’t forgetting it. Companies are ending contracts with him, people are responding strongly, and now, the other presidential candidates are speaking up.

Trump declared his run for the White House on June 16, and went on to list some of his plans as president. One of these was to tighten borders between the U.S. and Mexico — but Trump didn’t stop by declaring border control a priority. Instead, he went on to explain why this was a priority for him. Specifically, he went on to claim that immigrants from Mexico are rapists, drug dealers, and criminals — “and probably a few good people.”

The other 2016 presidential candidates have seen Donald Trump’s blunder, and are using it as a way to distance themselves from racially charged policies and statements.

Hillary Clinton was the first to speak out, actually apologizing to Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants for Donald Trump, via a Facebook post — in Spanish.

The image declares that recently, an American presidential candidate (Trump isn’t named) called immigrants drug dealers, rapists, and criminals, and that perhaps he failed to speak to any actual immigrants, who are here to make a better life for their children, and to ask them about their lives.

However, the furor over Donald Trump’s accusations isn’t dying away, and now more candidates are speaking up.

George Pataki, former Governor of New York, who is now seeking the Republican party’s nomination for president, spoke out, both on Fox Business, where he said it’s time for the nation to “dump Trump” and protect the dignity of all people, and on his Facebook page.

“Every country must protect their borders. What Trump did went far beyond that, attacking Mexicans.”

Republican Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush has also disavowed Donald Trump’s position on immigrants. The New York Times reports that Bush said he takes Trump’s remarks personally, and finds them offensive. Moreover, Bush says Trump’s remarks are not a reflection of the stance of the Republican party.

However, he doesn’t think Trump really believes what he said.

“He’s doing this to inflame and incite and to draw attention, which seems to be the organizing principle of his campaign.”

Whether or not the former Florida governor is right about that, Trump has made it clear that he isn’t backing down on the statements.

However, now at least three presidential candidates, including two Republican candidates, have decried Donald Trump’s assertions about immigrants, making it clear that his views are not only intolerant, but intolerable.

[Photo by: Christopher Gregory / Getty Images]