Donald Trump has no qualms blaming George W. Bush for 9/11: "Say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time"

“He was president, okay? Blame him or don’t blame him, but he was president"

By Sophia Tesfaye

Senior Politics Editor

Published October 16, 2015 6:07PM (EDT)

  (Reuters/Brendan McDermid/Jason Reed/Photo montage by Salon)
(Reuters/Brendan McDermid/Jason Reed/Photo montage by Salon)

Bloomberg’s Stephanie Ruhle wanted to know "who Donald Trump is as a man."

"We need to know that you will make us feel safe and make us feel proud," she told the Republican frontrunner during a recent interview.

"OK, I think I have a bigger heart than all of them," he replied, arguing that he would be a more capable leader on national security than his presidential rivals by pointing to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"I think I'm much more competent than all of them. When you talk about George Bush – I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time," he said matter-of-factly.

"Hold on! You can't blame George Bush for that," Ruhle insisted, seemingly defending the former president for only being on the job for a matter of months at the time of 9/11.

"He was president, OK?" Trump pushed-back. "Blame him or don't blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign."

According to the Daily Mail, Trump's 2016 rival and Bush's younger brother Jeb has zero interest in getting into a war of words with Trump over his brother's record of keeping America safe, despite claiming just that during the last Republican presidential debate:

Freddy Ford, a spokesman for George W. Bush, wasted no time in responding to a question about whether or not the former president would respond to The Donald’s remarks.

“Thanks for checking, but definitely not,” Ford said Friday morning.

A Trump campaign spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

This isn't the first time Trump's taken a swipe at the 43rd president. Back in July, Trump reacted to news that Bush charged a wounded vets of Iraq and Afghanistan charity $100,000 to speak at a fundraiser with this pithy tweet:

Watch Trump's comments on Bush and 9/11:


By Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's senior editor for news and politics, and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

MORE FROM Sophia Tesfaye


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2016 Republican Primary 9-11 Donald Trump George W. Bush Gop Civil War Jeb Bush Terrorism Video