Politics
REUTERS/Kevin Kolczynski
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R).
"The president said something that I found breathtaking in its naïveté, which is that the best way to show our differences with ISIS is to convene a meeting about climate change," Bush said Wednesday during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
The presidential candidate added sarcastically, "That'll show 'em. That'll show ISIS we mean business."
Bush and other Republicans have been critical of Obama's emphasis on curtailing man-made climate change amid the risk of terror attacks like the November 13 massacre in Paris, which left at least 130 people dead and was linked to the Islamic State jihadist group (also known as ISIS).
Obama held a press conference Tuesday with French President François Hollande to discuss the attack. While vowing to win the battle against terrorism, Obama also touted the upcoming climate talks in Paris.
"Next week, I will be joining President Hollande and world leaders in Paris for the global-climate conference," Obama said. "What a powerful rebuke to the terrorists it will be when the world stands as one and shows we will not be deterred from building a better future for our children."
During a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Bush again slammed Obama for the comment, as well as for the White House's broader argument about the relative threat that climate change poses compared to terrorism.
"Perhaps the most ludicrous comment I've ever heard, that climate change is a bigger threat to our country than radical Islamic terrorism," Bush said. "It's baffling to me that the leader of the free world, the commander-in-chief of the greatest armed forces ever created would state that."
He added, "I think he is actually sincere, that he believes that climate change is a bigger threat to our country than these barbaric Islamic terrorists."