AP Photo Protesters interrupt Jeb Bush's speech to Hispanics

Protesters interrupted Jeb Bush's keynote address to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's annual convention in Houston on Monday.

Bush began his speech, honoring three female Hispanic entrepreneurs, with a declaration that "energy" and "creativity" and "drive" are the only things that matter in building a business.


"Nothing else matters. Not race or ethnicity, not gender, nothing else should. I, for one, am kind of tired about how we figure out ways to break ourselves up in our disparate parts," the former Florida governor said.

As Bush finished his sentence, a group began to chant, "no hope without our vote!" in reference to the notion that a Republican cannot become president without winning over Hispanics.

"Hey — I can't see you," Bush continued, after pausing for a few seconds. "Here's what I believe: As I've been consistently for the DREAM Act kids to get a path to citizenship, I've been consistently for it, and I'll continue to be consistently for it, irrespective of what the political ramifications of that are."

The audience reacted with cheers and applause, and the speech continued, as Bush spoke of the honorees: Maria Rios, the president and CEO of Nation Waste; Betty Manetta, president and CEO of Argent Associates; and Veronica Edwards, owner and CEO of Ingenesis. He also tossed in a jab at Donald Trump and his campaign slogan.

“In fact, you could say if you were looking—if one of the candidates for president was looking on how to make America great again, just hold up high the examples of Hispanic, Latina successful businesswomen," Bush remarked. "That is what makes America great.”