Jeb Bush says it took too long for Obama to visit a mosque as president

President Obama visited a mosque for the first time as president Wednesday, and Jeb Bush reacted by asking what took him so long.

"I'm surprised it took his eighth year to do it," Bush said Thursday. He took a very different stance from his rival Marco Rubio, who said by visiting the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama was "basically implying that America is discriminating against Muslims," and the "bigger issue is radical Islam."

Bush said he didn't think it was "divisive" to speak at the mosque, and people can believe that "discrimination in America is bad and the threat of ISIS is real." It was "more than appropriate" for the president to visit, Bush said, but that doesn't change the fact that he's "derelict in his duties" to crush the Islamic State. Bush told employees at Globe Manufacturing in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, he would fight ISIS by establishing a no-fly zone and arming Kurdish forces, ABC News reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up