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.
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.
Not so! I mean Jebbie is now lamenting that he can't “moon” the press to get attention. And today he's saying he doesn't care of Obama nominates a new justice for the SCOTUS. The reality of it is he's a limp schlong!
Ooh pundits say lol
Stop backing losers haha
Now Bush sweetened the pot by agreeing to DHS a two-fer loser proposition.
All the Bushes are making me sick these days. What a repulsive bunch of entitled nothings.
Trump said the US should take out Osama one year before 9/11. That’s foresight, not hindsight.
That's revisionist history.
Yeah it is.
that was HW Bush that used that term at the GOP convention when he got the nom. He reversed a lot of what Reagan had done. I don’t want another Bush. Why in the Heck didsn’t Bush defend himself?? that hurt the GOP bad.
“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. Truth sounds like hate to those who hate truth.”
Music to the ears of Trump’s liberal friends old and new. They want two things above all else; get Trump nominated and re-litigate Iraq.
Nice job by the Donald, handing it to them again. He also gave a shout out to the wonderful work of Planned Parenthood. The socialists love this guy.
So if Bush “Failed to keep us safe “ do you know what that means ?
It means that the had info and did not act on it (a failure) which also means other Americans had knowledge of it and failed to act on it.
So in short it is not failure you are talking about but it in essence says Bush is a traitor and a murderer of 3000 Americans (as well as all the others who knew about it but failed to do anything
Do you still want to stand by Mr Trump’s assertians?
“Mission accomplished, at least for George W. Bush.”
Every thing you say is spot on! And it’s taken Donald Trump to smoke out the truth despite it’s being fullly understood by those in power for a decade or more! None of the truly substantive issues we’re talking about today would be the subject of conversation without having be interjected by Trump. I just hope after he becomes President he cleans house at the RNC (along with all the departments of the government). Washington DC needs to be a city with a serious unemployment problem very soon after next January 20th!
Trump’s a TRUTHER!
lol
Now we have a Clinton and a Bush vying to be the candidate of their parties for the 2016 Presidential race. Bush 41 and 43 destroyed the GOP brand. They are not conservatives. They are Big Government Republicans who have made disastrous decisions hurting the country and American workers. It is a disgrace that a nation of 320 million must rely on political dyinasties for their leaders. It should be laughable that a Clinton or a Bush would be seeking the Presidency.
“... take out Osama one year before 9/11.”
Yes, I agree, that certainly was a great failure on Clinton’s part.
Bush spent money like a drunken Dem, but at least - much like The Don - he was not afraid to call the enemy by his Islamic name.
Bush is not running and is NOT the enemy of America. Just too liberal for me.
Just like Trump forcing one of his mistresses to have an abortion
“...who exactly would The Don have “bombed the shit out of” back when the nation supported Bush doing the same?â€
Well, How about Saudi Arabia for starters? And FWIW “the nation” supported W because he lied to us about the circumstances in Iraq. Plus he “dicked around”with a failed strategy in Iraq until he probably thought the country would throw him out of office. When I think of the human sacrifice and the hard-earned tax dollars he pissed away in the ME, it makes me sick.
If he’s going to speak the truth, he should start with why he forced his mistress into an abortion.
Did 3,000 Americans die on his watch in the single biggest act of terror in American history? yes. Did he subsequently drag us into a multi trillion dollar military fiasco based on false pretenses that lead to over 4,000 dead American soldiers and 30,000+ wounded? Yes he did. Did any good come out of that decision? No. Do I still want to stand by Mr. Trump’s assertions? You betcha.
That is the position he is walking back from. In the debate it wsa outright "Bush lied, period," and this morning it was "Maybe he lied, maybe not."
Admit it: you’re scared of men, manliness and masculinity, and can’t handle it. You dwell in a world where your Man of the Year is Caitlyn Jenner.
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