Republican presidential candidate George Pataki is hoping to grab some of the spotlight fellow candidate Donald Trump is occupying, by pressuring the rest of the field to denounce Trump's inflammatory comments on immigration.Let's see -- how would that work out for the other candidates? Let's take a look at the response to Pataki's own denunciation of Trump:
Pataki, the former Republican governor of New York, sent a letter to the more than a dozen other GOP candidates asking them to join him in calling out Trump for calling illegal immigrants to the U.S. "rapists" and "killers."
"The last week of news coverage over the language used by Donald Trump to describe Mexicans has left me and a lot of other sensible people wondering what century we are living in," Pataki said in his open letter....
Join me. Stand up now. Denounce Donald Trump's comments today. http://t.co/5XTULJxtVl @JohnKasich @GrahamBlog @GovChristie #FITN
— George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) July 1, 2015How'd that go over with Pataki's followers?
@GovernorPataki The sad part is, that you were one that I thought was uniquely qualified: for me, censoring Trump disqualifies you!#PC
— Mike Datlof (@mike_datlof) July 1, 2015@GovernorPataki @JohnKasich @GrahamBlog @GovChristie Absolutely not. He's telling the truth. The man has balls.
— Josephine (@notmyname02) July 1, 2015@GovernorPataki @JohnKasich @GrahamBlog @GovChristie TRUMP IS AGAINST ILLEGALS, NOT LEGALS !!
— tom nichols (@mrtom2360) July 1, 2015@GovernorPataki @JohnKasich @GrahamBlog @GovChristie .I support Trump, because I support the truth. Have you ever heard of it? I doubt it.
— Aut Grind (@autgrind) July 1, 2015@GovernorPataki That's big talk from a has-been politician who won't even make it to the debate stage. We're supporting @realDonaldTrump
— Gary Forbes (@gqforbes) July 1, 2015@GovernorPataki @JohnKasich @GrahamBlog @GovChristie LOVE TRUMP. His statement is based on FACTS. FBI FACTS....
— Jimmy Freedom (@FreedomHaawk) July 1, 2015@GovernorPataki My ancestors were immigrants 2 they assimilated & learned English Didn't turn USA upside down Soon we'll press 9 for English
— Rosemarie McNerney (@RosemarieMcNern) July 3, 2015@GovernorPataki @JohnKasich @GrahamBlog @GovChristie Only someone who fears what Trump says would tweet such things. Thanks for your help
— Marion Talley (@Shadowboxer50) July 1, 2015So yeah, good luck with this, George.
Ted Cruz, of course, has Trump's back. A few other Republican candidates -- Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie, and, surprisingly, Rick Perry -- have actually criticized Trump:
Last weekend, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose wife is Mexican-American, was asked in Spanish about Trump at an event in Nevada. In Spanish, he said that Trump doesn't represent the values of the Republican Party, according to Bloomberg News.Hmmm ... three guys who are struggling in the polls, plus Jeb. Not a word of criticism from Walker, Rubio, Paul, Carson, Fiorina. But look at the tweets above. Do you blame them?
Asked again in English, Bush said, "I don't agree with him. I think he's wrong. It's pretty simple."
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry had a similar response during an appearance at the National Press Club on Thursday: "Let me say, I do not think Donald Trump's remarks reflect the Republican Party. I think the Republican Party is reflected in people like me." Several hours later his campaign sent a press release touting an even stronger Perry response to Trump during a Fox News interview.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, campaigning in New Hampshire this week, said Trump's comments were "inappropriate and have no place in this race." Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) said in response to a question at a campaign event in Iowa, "I don't need a letter from Gov. Pataki. I said from day one, when you label a group of people as rapists and drug dealers, says more about you then it says about them.”
