--- title: Jeb Bush Bungles 'Anchor Baby' Explanation description: The Republican presidential candidate says he was referring to Asians committing "fraud" canonical: https://time.com/4008888/jeb-bush-anchor-baby-asians/ author: Alex Altman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-24T21:02:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:47.827Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush Bungles 'Anchor Baby' Explanation og:description: The GOP presidential candidate says he was referring to Asians committing "fraud" og:url: https://time.com/4008888/jeb-bush-anchor-baby-asians/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbddc6b0f9af6ff83/69885fe8524fc02748df41da/jeb-bush5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3433 og:image:height: 1931 og:image:alt: Jeb Bush og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush Bungles 'Anchor Baby' Explanation twitter:description: The GOP presidential candidate says he was referring to Asians committing "fraud" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbddc6b0f9af6ff83/69885fe8524fc02748df41da/jeb-bush5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush Bungles 'Anchor Baby' Explanation > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e975e579-2097-4087-a0af-4528d211a11f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years [Watch (HLS stream): See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3nRIB78f.m3u8) (2:37)  _Published 2015-06-12. From his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1994 through his decision to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, here are some of the top moments from Jeb Bush's political career._  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Aug 24, 2015 9:02 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush speaks during a town hall meeting on Aug. 17, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Republican presidential candidate former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush speaks during a town hall meeting on Aug. 17, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Rainier Ehrhardt—AP  by [Alex Altman](https://time.com/author/alex-altman/)  ## Alex Altman Altman is the executive features editor and deputy Washington bureau chief at TIME. Aug 24, 2015 9:02 PM UTC Jeb Bush struggled Monday to explain his position on birthright citizenship, suggesting that his use of the term _anchor babies_ was directed not at Hispanics but rather at Asians. “What I was talking about was the specific case of fraud being committed,” Bush told reporters during an immigration-focused press conference in McAllen, Texas. “Frankly it’s more related to Asian people \[who are\] coming into our country, having children, and … taking advantage of a noble concept, which is birthright citizenship.” The remark may muddy a border visit designed to juxtapose the GOP presidential candidate’s platform on immigration with that of Donald Trump, who has proposed building a massive wall along the southern border and forcing Mexico to foot the bill. Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration has prompted his rivals to lurch to the right. That includes Bush, who has long been a champion of immigration reform and touted his own multicultural family as a strength of his candidacy. The former Florida governor’s use of the epithet was a sharp departure for Bush, who throughout his campaign has called for the GOP to adopt a more inclusive tone. It was a potential liability in his quest to woo Hispanic voters. Bush pushed back against the notion that his use of _anchor baby_ was pejorative, and said the criticism that ensued was politically driven. “My background, my life, the fact that I’m immersed in the immigrant experience — this is ludicrous for the Clinton campaign and others to suggest that somehow I’m using a derogatory term,” Bush said. “I support the 14th Amendment. Nothing I’ve said should be viewed as derogatory toward immigrants at all.” Federal authorities have been [investigating reports](http://www.wsj.com/articles/us-agents-raid-alleged-maternity-tourism-anchor-baby-businesses-catering-to-chinese-1425404456) of a budding Chinese [“birth tourism”](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-charge-new-chinese-moms-birth-tourism-fugitives-n351616) industry, in which mothers are alleged to have traveled to the U.S. to give birth, then returned home with infants who are newly minted American citizens. But redirecting the focus toward Asians may be equally damaging, given that the group sided with Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential campaign in roughly the same numbers as Latinos. Taking another page from Trump’s playbook, Bush shrugged off the backlash as a symptom of a system in which political correctness runs amok. “This is all how politics plays,” he said. “And by way, I think we need to take a step back and chill out a little bit as it relates to the political correctness that somehow you have to be scolded every time you say something. It’s not fair to be taken out of context. That’s the nature of politics, but I just don’t think that this is appropriate.” ## Transcript The younger Bush brother did not make the governor's chair in Florida. The older Bush brother, George W. Bush, did make it in Texas. This is a mixed night for the Bush family. I know we can do better. It requires a new style of leadership, commitment to service to others, and an ability to bring people together rather than divide I wanna be the governor that leads us there. And in Florida, Jeb Bush, 56 to 44 over Buddy MacKay, the Democratic candidate. My brother said in one of his speeches, my brother said he's gonna deliver Florida. [ LAUGH ] He did say That he said it more than once. Will he deliver it? He also told it was going to be a cold Thanksgiving dinner if I don't help him out, and then we're going to carry it. We could be in for a long night as voters decide whether Vice President Al Gore or Texas Governor George Bush will be the next president of the United States. It is that close. ABC News is now going to project that Florida goes to Mr. Bush. While the closest elections in American history Bush has won it. The rigor of the common core state standards must be the new minimum in classrooms. And so for those states that are choosing a path other than common core I say this. You should be aiming even higher. And be bolder and raise standards and ask more for our students and the system. The simple fact is there is no plan to deport 11 Million people. We should give them a path to legal status. Where they work, where they don't receive government benefits, where they don't break the law, where they learn English, and where they make a contribution to our society. Knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion? I would of and so would of Hillary Clinton. Just to remind everybody and so would of almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence they got. By the way guess who thinks that those mistakes took place as well. George W. Bush. Your brother. Yeah. I mean so just for the news flash to the world that they're trying to find places that there's big space between me and my brother, this might not be one of those. I'm running for president in 2016, and the focus is going to be about how we, if I run, how do you create high sustained economic growth where more people have a chance at our success. I don't know if I'd be a good candidate or a bad one. Kinda know how a Republican can win, whether it's me or somebody else. And it has to be much more uplifting, much more positive, much more willing to be practical now in the Washington world. Lose the primary to win the general. 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