Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday that Republicans need to talk more about the issue of wage stagnation or else former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton will end up in the White House.
Mr. Huckabee, who’s in the middle of a trip to Israel, said it’s nice to hear he’s leading a new poll on the possible 2016 GOP field, but it means there will now be a “target” on his back.
“It’s always nice — I don’t think the polls mean a whole lot, except when I’m at the lead, and then it means a whole lot, so yes, I’m delighted, and it proves America’s smart. That’s good,” he said on Fox News’ “The Kelly File.”
Mr. Huckabee said people know that when it comes to a defense of Israel and a strong stand against what is happening not just in the Middle East but the threat to America, he’s been outspoken.
“And I also think … that my comments regarding the bottom 90 percent of American workers whose wages have been stagnant for 40 years — Republicans aren’t [talking] about that very much, and if we don’t talk about it, Hillary Clinton’s [going to] be the next president,” he said.
On the issue of the Islamic State terrorist group, Mr. Huckabee also chided President Obama, saying Mr. Obama has been “so difficult to find his throat on being able to identify who the enemy is.”
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“You can’t beat an enemy you don’t name,” Mr. Huckabee said. “And he’s had a hard time — even in his speech … one of the things [that] became very clear is that the president, once again, wants to defend the Muslim faith.”
Mr. Obama said at a summit on countering violent extremism Wednesday that the U.S. is not at war with Islam, but that “we are at war with people who have perverted Islam.”
Mr. Huckabee claimed that hate crime statistics from 2012 showed more than 62 percent of religious hate crimes in America were directed against Jewish people, and 12 percent against Muslims.
“The issue is not Islamophobia — the issue is anti-Semitism, and I wish the president would address the fact that Jews are the ones getting targeted a heck of a lot in the United States than … Muslims,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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