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Jeb Bush Announces He’s A Fan Of White Nationalist Author’s Books

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Likely GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush Thursday night proudly announced he’s a fan of books authored by a social scientist the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a “white nationalist,” and whose most famous book has been denounced as “racial pornography.”

At a forum Thursday night, Jeb Bush proudly announced he is a fan of books authored by a highly-controversial social scientist whose most-read work, The Bell Curve, has been denounced as “racial pornography.”

The on-stage conversation was hosted by the National Review, which itself was founded by the late William F. Buckley, Jr., himself a supporter of white supremacism. Buckley in his later years was forced to renounce his earlier racism, but well after the National Review was founded.

National Review editor Rich Lowry asked Bush, “is there any policy or anything public officials can do to help turn back what has been a rising tide of family breakdown crossing decades now?” 

“Absolutely, there is,” Bush responded. “It’s not exactly the core. My views on this were shaped a lot on this by Charles Murray’s book, except I was reading the book and I was waiting for the last chapter with the really cool solutions — didn’t quite get there.”

Bush did not specify which Charles Murray book his views were shaped by, although The Bell Curve, which argues that Blacks are genetically inferior to whites, is the one for which he is best-known.

Later, Bush patted himself on the back when he again brought up Charles Murray.

Asked what he likes to read, “I like Charles Murray books to be honest with you, which means I’m a total nerd I guess,” Bush said.

The National Review tweeted the quote later that evening.

Bush’s comments came just 24 hours after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivered her first major policy speech, saying America needs to “come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in America.”

In 1994, then-New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert, labeled Murray’s Bell Curve “a scabrous piece of racial pornography masquerading as serious scholarship,” and added, “his book is just a genteel way of calling somebody a nigger.”

Ironically, Charles Murray in 2000 wrote this at the National Review:

“Try to imagine a … presidential candidate saying in front of the cameras, ‘One reason that we still have poverty in the United States is that a lot of poor people are born lazy.’ You cannot imagine it because that kind of thing cannot be said. And yet this unimaginable statement merely implies that when we know the complete genetic story, it will turn out that the population below the poverty line in the United States has a configuration of the relevant genetic makeup that is significantly different from the configuration of the population above the poverty line. This is not unimaginable. It is almost certainly true.”

It’s not surprising, perhaps, that Bush would feel comfortable bandying Charles Murray about at the National Review. The publication’s history of hosting those who do not support equality continues to this day.

In 2012, after publishing his work for nine years, the National Review finally fired John Derbyshire, after the racist and homophobic author penned a a racist screed titled “The Talk: Nonblack Version,” that was published by a different online magazine, also known for its racist writers. 

National Review is also home to anti-gay marriage activist Maggie Gallagher, and senior editor Jay Nordlinger, who in 2012 also, called immigrants “wetbacks,” and then defended the slur.

Here’s video of Bush talking about Charles Murray’s book:

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
Hat tip: Talking Points Memo

 

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‘He Was the Only One’: Trump Mocked for Declaring Iran’s Moves ‘Shocked’ Him

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March 16, 2026

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President Donald Trump is facing criticism and mockery after admitting he was “shocked” that Iran fought back against Operation Epic Fury.

“Trump just admitted publicly that his administration underestimated the Iranian response to his attack,” The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin reported.

During a meeting of the board governing the Kennedy Center, Trump said, “look what happened. In the last two weeks, they weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

Focusing on Trump’s “shocked” remark, some critics blasted the president, once again, for what many have previously said is a Commander-in-Chief who was unprepared to go to war against Iran.

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser called Trump’s comments a “Remarkable admission.”

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Former Republican U.S. Rep. Justin Amash declared, “We are governed by complete morons.”

Podcaster Clint Russell noted, “Just FYI, this is the EXACT reason our generals have consistently advised against a war with Iran. Even Charlie Kirk had laid this all out on his show a couple years ago. Iran was no threat to America but they were fully capable of destroying the global economy by striking oil facilities and transit throughout the region.”

Robert Manning, a Distinguished Fellow in Global Foresight at the nonpartisan Stimson Center, wrote: “If so, he was the only one surprised. Strategic planners have war games this for 40 years. Hard to believe JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] didn’t advise Trump this was likely.”

“I’m pretty confident every war plan US has ever done in last 30 years gaming out this conflict was based on expectation that Iran could in fact [and] would in fact do this,” noted The Nation’s Jeet Heer.

“Every institution built to prevent exactly this outcome existed, was bypassed, and we are now watching the president express shock at conclusions that were already written in the classified assessments he didn’t read,” observed Christine Villaverde, the chairwoman of Anchoring Democracy.

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

 

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‘Lazy and Unstrategic’: GOP Senator Slams ‘Republican on Republican Violence’

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15 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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A prominent Republican senator is denouncing his own party while lamenting the lack of an official presidential endorsement in the highly contentious Texas Republican Senate runoff election.

Agreeing that it is a mistake for President Donald Trump to withhold his endorsement of either Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned, “I think the more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican-on-Republican violence, Democrats are in the marketing department, loving the idea of a competitive runoff.”

“I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, appearing to suggest there are other ways for one of the candidates to pull ahead.

“People on my side of the aisle, and people at the far right of the political spectrum, are trying to swing for the fences, and they’re not gonna succeed,” he warned.

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

A runoff election between Cornyn and Paxton will take place on May 26, and the president has yet to endorse either contender.

Reports suggest a Cornyn endorsement is more likely, although Paxton has been a reliable MAGA supporter. Trump has even suggested that whichever candidate does not get his backing should quit the race entirely, clearing the way for the presumptive nominee to battle the Democratic nominee, James Talarico.

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, on March 4, “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!”

He vowed to make his endorsement “soon,” but has yet to do so.

Each passing day gives Talarico more time to campaign and build his war chest as the two GOP contenders spend their time and money battling each other.

READ MORE: Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

 

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Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

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18 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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Gas prices are continuing to substantially increase, with five states now hovering near $4 a gallon and several others seeing sharp increases as President Donald Trump’s war in Iran enters its 17th day.

“Big gas price hikes just now starting to happen in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri today, which will likely push the national average to $3.75-$3.80 by mid-week,” reports Patrick De Haan, the head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy.

But, he also notes that Michigan and the Chicago area are already seeing $3.99 per gallon as of Monday. Indiana drivers are seeing $3.89, and Ohio and Kentucky are seeing $3.79 per gallon.

De Haan directly attributes the increases to the summer gasoline changeover and the ongoing Iran situation.

“The national average is up 80.0 cents from a month ago and is 66.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago,” WANE reports, citing GasBuddy’s data.

Drivers should not expect to see prices come down significantly anytime soon.

“Until we see a meaningful resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist,” De Haan said. “At the same time, seasonal forces are beginning to intensify as several regions complete the transition to summer gasoline, creating a double headwind that could continue driving pump prices higher in the weeks ahead.”

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

 

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