Jeb: ‘Yes, I am a Bush’

GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush embraced his family history during a speech Friday night, touting the ability of his father and brother to develop relationships with other countries during their presidencies. 

“The next president needs to restore these relationships to create peace and security. And I happen to know this because, yes, I am a Bush,” the former Florida governor told a crowd in Michigan, according to reports. “I happened to see two really good presidents develop relationships with other countries.”

{mosads}Bush has been hesitant during the campaign to embrace the legacy of his his family’s White House tenures. His campaign logo is simply “Jeb!” — seen by many as a way to distance himself from them. 

But the comment Friday is the fourth time in less than a week that he defended the presidency of his brother, George W. Bush.

During a back and further with Donald Trump at Wednesday night’s CNN debate, Bush invoked his brother’s response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

“As it related to my brother, there’s one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe,” Bush said to loud applause. “I don’t know if you remember, Donald. You remember the rubble, you remember the firefighter with his arms around it? He sent a clear signal that the United States would be strong and fight Islamic terrorism. And he did keep us safe.”

He later tweeted out a picture of his brother standing on the rubble of the twin towers in New York shortly after the attack, alongside the tag, “he kept us safe.”

A Democratically aligned outside group, Americans United ForChange, has already attacked Bush over the debate comments in an online ad, titled, “Safe?”

Bush’s campaign shot back Friday night, alleging that the attack is a “depressing example of just how extreme the left has become.”

“If there’s one thing we should all agree on it’s that in response to that horrific attack, the country came together with resolve in the face of evil to ensure we keep our country safe. Today, while Jeb has offered a plan to defeat ISIS, the Democrats have no strategy so they resort to craven political attacks,” Bush’s campaign spokesman Allie Brandenburger said in a statement.