On Monday morning, President Obama complimented an unlikely foreign policy strategist—former President George W. Bush.
Speaking at the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey, Obama criticized Republicans who suggest that the United States accept only Christian refugees from the conflict in Syria.
“When I hear folks say that, ‘Well, maybe we should just admit the Christians, but not the Muslims’—when I hear political leaders suggesting that there would be a religious test for which person who's fleeing from a war-torn country is admitted—when some of those folks themselves come from families who benefited from protection when they were fleeing political persecution, that's shameful,” the president told reporters. “That's not American.”
“I had a lot of disagreements with George W. Bush on policy, but I was very proud after 9/11 when he was adamant and clear about the fact that this is not a war on Islam,” Obama continued, noting that current Republican leaders should follow his example.
The president’s remarks came on the heels of an attack on Paris on Friday, which left more than 120 dead. In the days that followed, much of the debate focused on how the United States should combat ISIS, as well as U.S. refugee policy.