(The Washington Post) – After an event in Gorham, N.H. today, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush rolled his eyes at the mention of protesters who heckled the phrase “black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter” at a progressive conference.
After uttering the phrase, Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley made a series of quick apologies to attendees of Netroots Nation. Progressives at the conference, which took place over five days in Phoenix, praised O’Malley for the walkback. People unfamiliar with the phrase have since characterized that an inscrutable pander. When Yahoo! News reporter Jon Ward asked Bush if O’Malley should have apologized, the Republican said “no.”
“We’re so uptight and so politically correct now that we apologize for saying ‘lives matter?’” asked Bush. “Life is precious. It’s a gift from God. I frankly think that it’s one of the most important values that we have. I know in the political context it’s a slogan, I guess. Should he have apologized? No. If he believes that white lives matter, which I hope he does, then he shouldn’t have apologized to a group that seemed to disagree with it. Gosh.”
The trackers at American Bridge quickly uploaded a video of the exchange.