The GOP could boost its appeal to black voters if it turned to a message of "hope and aspiration" instead of promises of "free stuff," White House hopeful Jeb Bush told a crowd on Thursday.

"Look around this room," a supporter challenged Bush in reference to the mostly white crowd attending the South Carolina event, the Washington Post reported. "How many black faces do you see? How are you going to include them and get them to vote for you?"

In response, the former Florida governor pointed to his record on school choice and conceded that his party could win key swing states like Ohio and Virginia if it managed to double its share of the African-American vote.

"Our message is one of hope and aspiration," he insisted. "It isn't one of division and get in line and we'll take care of you with free stuff. Our message is one that is uplifting -- that says you can achieve earned success."

The brother of former President George W. Bush and son of former President George H.W. Bush drew almost immediate criticism for his remarks, which many compared to Mitt Romney's infamous "47 percent" comment during the 2012 presidential race.

"If he thinks Obama era policies constitute handing out 'free stuff' and trapping people in "spider webs,' his vision of government isn't much more of an ideological compromise with the Obama years than Romney's was," the Post's Greg Sargent commented. "Let's put this argument before the voters. Again."

Bush, for his part, also used the week to court Latino supporters when he set himself apart from his GOP rivals by coming out in favor of immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship, EFE reported.

"I believe we need immigration reform; I've been clear about this," the former governor told activists who interrupted him during an address to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce conference in Houston. "I believe that DREAM Act kids should have a path to citizenship," Bush added.