It is possible that Trump was not using leftist talking points. It is entirely possible that he actually thinks that.
He really did pursue Obama’s birth certificate. I think he really does consider Cruz ineligible. And to think Bush lied to get us into a war is not beyond the realm of a credible conspiracy theory.
If that's so, it diminishes his credibility for me. It's not a credible conspiracy theory, not one bit.
Now, he may have made a political calculation to separate the GOP from the Bush family, but like I say, there are far better ways to do so.
It's okay he can say it was a mistake, it's fine to say we shouldn't have done it, but crossing over and saying he lied is so unnecessary, and so tawdry, and yes, so wrong. It's really not defensible.