Posted on 02/14/2016 2:52:49 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Donald Trump sought Sunday to walk back his statements during Saturday night's Republican debate that former President George W. Bush bore responsibility for the Sept. 11 terror attack.
"I am not blaming him," Trump said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
Trump continued to imply Bush erred, however. "The CIA said there was a lot of information that something like that was going to happen," he said. The attacks killed just under 3,000 Americans.
During Saturday night's debate, Trump told former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: "The World Trade Center came down during your brother's reign, remember that."
"How did he keep us safe?" Trump said later. "I lost hundreds of friends. The World Trade Center came down during the reign of George Bush. He kept us safe? That is not safe."
Trump holds a large lead in South Carolina. A CBS poll released Sunday put his support at 42 percent. That is more than double the 20 percent of the second-place candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., polled in third at 15 percent.
But in the wake of the debate, many pundits argued Trump risks losing support of pro-military conservative voters in South Carolina and other upcoming primary states, among whom George W. Bush remains popular.
For some GOP voters, Trump's faulting of Bush may have sounded too similar to Democratic denunciations of the former president, who faced criticism at the time for taking a lengthy vacation in the weeks prior to the attack, which occurred nine months into his presidency.
Hoping to capitalize on the those views, Rubio responded to Trump's claims Saturday by arguing former President Bill Clinton was at fault for the 9/11 attacks. Clinton failed to kill Osama bin Laden, Rubio said.
Trump on Sunday also seemed to walk back his claim that the Bush administration deliberately misled Americans in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
"They lied," Trump said during the debate. "They said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none. And they knew there were none."
On Sunday, Trump said George W. Bush "thought there were weapons of mass destruction, maybe, or maybe he didn't."
Trump insisted the invasion of Iraq was a "disaster" that continues to spread instability.
"We would have been so much better off if Bush and the rest of them went to the beach and didn't do anything," Trump said. "If you had Saddam Hussein, he was a bad guy and all of that, but he made a living off killing terrorists. Now if you want to become a terrorist you go to Iraq."
Trump spoke just hours after he fired off a series of post-midnight tweets arguing he fared well in the debate.
Saturday's debate "might have been my best performance," Trump said Sunday.
That is the pattern I see.
Hey Stump....stay currant and notice that George W. Bush is not a candidate in this election, why are you running against him? DUH!!1
“How did he keep us safe?” Trump said later. “I lost hundreds of friends.”
I doubt Trump has hundreds of friends.
“Nothing he has said has lessened my opinion of him.”
Nothing he could ever say could possibly lessen my opinion of him.
Does Trump ever stand by anything that he bleats for longer than 24 hours? Apparently not. Flip-flopper doesn’t even begin to cover what he is. I don’t even think there’s an appropriate term for it....
other than ‘typical liberal’.
Reign
He didn't say Presidency, or term. He used the word associated with Monarchies. He used the word associated with Dynasties. He used the word associated with Royalty.
I think it was the whole point of the exchange. Does America want another member of the Ruling Class Elites?
Facts are facts. Also Bush allowing all those Saudi families to fly out right after. Escaping. BAD.
“...squandered what little we gained and abandoned Iraq...”
And there, IMO, is the WORST of the lot. EIGHT YEARS of war, and nary an advantage.
I won’t nation build.....turned right around, and started nation building (’wining hearts and minds’). Could have swore I heard ‘we won’t be paying for this war’, too.
I didn’t expect much from ‘Mr. Noble-prize winner’; but plunging the whole region in chaos and turmoil? DAMN.
If you listened he explained it. Jeb has spent well over $100M a lot of it on attack adds against Trump. As Trump said, he has to respond, and he will shut up about Bush if the attack adds stop. The more noise Trump makes the clearer it might become to Bushes supporters that Trump will owe them no favors if elected.
Good thing, too.
He doesn’t. I think he’s proud of it.
If all you hear is the cough cough “debates”, you don’t know how he speaks. He uses complete sentences and thoughts in rallies and interviews and in his books.
If Trump ran against W today, who would win?
My money would be on Trump.
So one reference is nothing. He should have written a whole book about Bin Laden or a dissertation or something or it doesn’t count?
I remember a previous election where Trump was accused of being a stalking horse for Hillary. Methinks he took that conspiracy theory meme and ran with it this time. He’s turning off more and more righties while attracting more lefties with his anti-Republican rhetoric. And yet, running ‘as a Republican’.
Something stinks here guys. Seriously. If you can’t smell it, something is wrong with you.
;)
They had left over chemical munitions that we gave them in the 80s. They did not have active procurement, production facilities/programs-certainly nothing on the scale described to us in the run up to the war.
What about those boxes from France with munition parts date stamped “2003?”
Like a Great Dane is afraid of a Corgi, Woofie.
Roller Debate indeed!
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