Eff you, Donald. Really. Eff you.
Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, went after former President George W. Bush on Friday, saying in a new interview that the Sept. 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks happened on his watch.
“When you talk about George Bush – I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time,” Trump told Bloomberg’s Stephanie Ruhle when asked if he could console the American people in times of crisis, as Bush did after 9/11 and President Barack Obama did after the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
“I think I have a bigger heart than all of them,” Trump responded. “I think I’m much more competent then all of them.”
Ruhle then jumped in: “Hold on! You can’t blame George Bush for that.”
“He was president, okay? Blame him or don’t blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign,” Trump responded. “If you look at Sandy Hook, those people are still begging for help.”
A spokesman for Bush told The Daily Mail that the 43rd president would “definitely not” respond to such a suggestion from Trump. Many observers interpreted the comments as Trump blaming Bush for the terrorist attacks.
During his reign???? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Bush did not act like a king. That’s Obama.
Trump thinks he has a bigger heart? No Donald, a man with a bigger heart wouldn’t have said anything this goddam stupid or wrong.
Eff you, Donald. This is why I cant stand you.
UPDATE
It’s Hurricane Sandy, Donald, not Sandy Hook.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
And Jesse Ventura to fit in for his VP…..
Come on now DrJohn. You weren’t born yesterday that you can be so naive about the manipulations of the yellow-press to pit Republicans at each other’s throats. That was the entire mission of the first two Republican debates. Mediaite is a pro-left website. The left is always looking at ways to take interviews with Republicans and creatively edit them to make it appear the Republican is saying things they didn’t. Taking statements out of context and whittling them down to elicit a specific response from news consumers has been a tactic of the MSM for decades. Do you actually think a leftist website is going to word their reports in a way to make (any) Republican candidate look good?
Trump spouted a fact. the Twin towers did come down during George Bush’s Presidency. You don’t actually deny that do you? Furthermore, It is the interviewer’s suggestion that Trump is blaming it on Bush. This is also a common ploy by the MSM. Nor is Trump’s reply (as given by Mediaite) indicative that of agreement with Ruhle’s suggestion:
Another statement of fact. Do you deny Bush was president on 9/11? The use of the word “reign” has been properly applied to presidents of all persuasions throughout history.
I would want to hear the actual interview or at least see the full transcript of the interview in it’s entirety before I would trust anything Mediaite puts reports.
Using Obama’s standards, anything that happens during a president’s term is because of who was president for the 8 years before you. Everything today is still Bush’s fault. Obama has done nothing to impact the world until 2017, then he gets credit for the next 8 years.
I firmly believe that 9/11 would have happened regardless of who was pres at the time.
@Ditto: Ditto
@Redteam:
LOL, ditto back at-cha.
@Ditto:
So that gives Trump a bigger heart too? Not buying it.
Sounds like a stalking horse for Hillary!
If I say, ”Pearl Harbor was bombed during FDR’s time,” would I be wrong or right?
I would be right.
In fact I think I DID write that in a high school history class once.
It was the Lefty interviewer who tried (and failed) to put words in Trump’s mouth!
Sheesh!
Gotta love Trump making the GOP’s heads explode, lol! He’s right though. Bush had ample warnings but was too busy carving up the map of Iraq with Cheney to give a shit.
@Redteam:
You idiot, everything that happens in the middle east for the next 50 years will be a direct result of Bush’s incompetence and arrogance-and lies.
@Nanny G: Wait a minute…Are you saying if it happens during Obama’s reign that it’s his fault. He still blames Bush. I don’t think Obama thinks anything is his fault.
@Reem: Had warnings? I think it was Clinton that had the warnings that he ignored.
I do not believe this is a case of the leftstream media distorting Trump. I believe he’s said negative things about George Bush and the war in Iraq for the past several years, now.
More recently:
And this seems to confirm it:
@Wordsmith:
On that we will have to disagree.
Yeah, so what? I’ve said negative things about George Bush. I also have said some negative things about the war in Iraq. Mainly that George Bush was really no friend of middle class workers and taxpayers, that he was an establishment-Republican. As for the Iraq War, I thought he should have put off going back in a little longer and focused our forces on going after OBL. Does that mean I blame the Iraq War on George Bush? of course not. The Iraq War was completely Saddam Hussein’s fault.
@Reem:
Really? What warnings?
@Ditto:
Someone “much more competent” would not confuse Sandy Hook with hurricane Sandy.
We’re back to this again. Anyone who suggests they would have done the same or more, including Trump, is mere speculation. Trump’s knowledge is limited to what he read/didn’t read in the media.
The pre-September 11th threat assessment was largely this – plenty of general, but non-specific threats and BB (web) chatter about an impending action from late April 2001 to several days before 9-11. Much of summer 2001 was spent on a higher alert level. During Bush 43’s stay at his TX ranch in Aug 2001, his PDB briefs from George Tenet, there were indications something may be afoot but nothing specific. Q from Bush 43: Do we need to move to a higher military alert level and a higher alert for law enforcement? Tenet’s short answer: he didn’t think so since everything was still generalized. Bush 43 was interested in “rolling back” AQ, but Senate Dems were holding up nominations on deputy principals and undersecretaries (State and Defense) who would be fleshing out the policy. That’s why he directed NSC adviser Condi Rice to lead the policy review vis-a-viz AQ. The policy review landed on her desk on Sun September 9 2001. She spent much of Mon September 10, 2001 reading the policy review and asking for more info from State and Defense on AQ.
Pre-Iraq War threat assessment: Iraq had become more aggressive in challenging US-UK enforcement of the no-fly zones (north and south). Iraq was restarting its ballistic missile R&D and production in violation of the 1991 cease fire terms. They were also seeking more information on how to rapidly decontaminate a “zone” from chemical and biological weapons – seeking that information first from Finland, then Sweden. Both countries refused the Iraqi request. Finally, they asked for the info from the Russians. The Russians provided personnel for the “instruction” in this regard. To an extent, we knew the Iraqis were using equipment intended for civilian use for military purposes. They had modified advanced, life support ambulances as mobile chemical/biological weapons labs.
The statement Ditto made in his comment (#14), he wished Bush 43 would have waited on the Iraq action. The bigger question is how long do we wait? The EU were ready to dismantle their sanctions and had opposed any Iraq action because there was nothing to see. From my own experiences, another vet’s, and others who post in this forum, who served in Iraq, said there was plenty to see – there were WMD materials, from weapons to infrastructure (for quick production restart). The Iraq Study Group found there was extensive documentary evidence of contacts between Saddam and AQ, both on a formal and informal basis. Saddam’s psychopath sons, Qusay and Uday, had more extensive connections and contacts with AQ.
Hindsight is always perfect 20/20. What I cited above is all open source material.
@David:
I was for the invasion, could not understand at the time why we were waiting. There was plenty of evidence of WMD and the belligerent actions of Saddam were enough to justify the involvement.
Blame GWB for Iraq? I give him CREDIT for doing the right thing. To blame for Iraq now, Obama withdrew our people and allowed the situation that exists. It’s all on him.
Bush was hamstrung, Ashcroft’s confirmation was seriously delayed, but he didn’t stop the flow of muzzies before, and right after he increased the flow of muzzies . And without being a truther, he knew enough soon enough after the attacks to put rich Saudi families, including Bin Laden relatives on the first planes out of the country. He had them on his radar, but like Clinton, didn’t act. Don’t blame him, but he ain’t so great as to lift Jeb, which was the point.
@Spartacus: One thing I don’t want is Jeb. He is the biggest ‘open borders’ guy running. We have a flood now, but nothing like after he takes down that little bit of fence we have.
@David:
Can you imagine what the reaction from those suffering from BDS would have been had he implemented the same type of airport screening that was done after 9/11 prior to 9/11? They would have went ape shit accusing him of trying to divert attention away from the economy or something. The best way to have prevented 9/11 would have been to go after AQ and put them on the run prior to 9/11. That would have required us going into Afghanistan just like we did. Again, imagine the tizzy the left would have had if GWB would have invaded Afghanistan without 9/11 happening.
@drjohn:
@drjohn:
You’re fishing for armchair arguments of the past based on Trump’s personal opinion of himself. Would Trump have been more “competent” or have had “a bigger heart” following Hurricane Sandy? Perhaps, we simply don’t know. The press was hell bent on blaming Bush yet gave a pass to the Democrat Mayor and Governor who should have been more competent and exasperated the problem. As for the name confusion. I’ve been in interview situations on both sides. it happens. The subject of the interview sometimes knows what they will be asked, but very often the interviewer will ask unexpected questions. As a gaff, that was a minor one, merely over similar names. ‘Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.”
@David:
Frankly, Bush Sr. should have finished the job the first time, instead of leaving Saddam in power and having our forces tied up in watch-dogging the regime for all these years. Again, I didn’t have a problem with Bush going back into Iraq. I simply didn’t agree with the timing of it. Saddam had been jerking the coalition around for years, and it appeared he was prepared to keep playing that game. His SCUD missiles were proven to be of poor quality and in military terms not much of a threat. There was no specific defining action by Saddam that I saw as requiring a quick, heavy military response. On the other hand, there was a great need to focus on hunting down AQ & OBL. I think a lesser response to Saddam in concert with the coalition forces, would have been more appropriate at the time.
Two excellent points, David.
1. No one can know what he/she would have done given a chance (without any 20-20 hindsight) to go back in time and be the decision-maker.
2. With the exception of Bush, Rice, the Pentagon, Defense Dept., and a few others, none of us knew what was really ”known” even at the time. It was mostly top secret. Perhaps some of it still is. But, basing speculation on public knowledge always opens one up to being second guessed by some who had more knowledge, much less by everyone else.
@Nanny G:
It’s also all rather mute at this point.
It was the Interviewer that brought-up 9/11 and Bush, when they could have just as easily, brought up the more recent terrorist attacks that happened under Obama’s ‘reign’. I think that is more telling that the purpose of the interview was to keep Republicans going after each other, rather than bringing up the incompetency of Obama and Hillary, and asking what Trump would do differently compared to the Democrat administration.
While it’s true Trump should’ve been asked what he would do differently, he wasn’t. He’s trying to create the impression he would’ve done things differently regarding September 11th, with regard to Iraq. There is no way to us to know, for Trump to know. It’s a “would’ve, should’ve” answer on Trump’s part. If he had problems with Bush war policy, then why did he vote for Bush’s re-election in ’04? Trump said he would’ve left Iraq in ’06-’07 because it was a lost cause and the Surge/COIN strategy wouldn’t work – just like Obama, just like Hillary. And, the military had no answers to defeat AQI. We all know how that turned out.
@Ditto:
Yeah, no kidding. I think most FA conservatives have criticized Bush over not being further to the right on immigration, spending, soft on Islam, etc. The point is, some of you are making lame excuses for Trump’s statements by claiming what he said is being distorted by the mainstream media. As far as I can tell, they’re reporting what he said. Has Trump claimed his words are being twisted? Or has he doubled-down? I’ve not checked the news today.
@Spartacus:
Wasn’t this a Richard Clarke unilateral decision?
Maybe some on the right would like to forget just how bad 9/11 was. It was much much worse than anything that happened while ANYONE else was POTUS
Bush will again not be invited to the GOP national convention. He was the worst POTUS ever. He tanked the Dow by 50% and unemployment exploded. to over 9% People all over the globe stopped thinking that the USA was moral and would never stoop so low as to torture other human beings. He started 2 wars and after 7 years couldn’t finish either of them. He completely destabilized the Mideast.
@john:
kinda pales in comparison to the rate of 24% we have today.
unlike our surrender under Obama in Iraq and our invasions of Libya and Cameroon, two wars we will likely be involved in for years.
Jeb! agrees with Trump!
In Jeb Bush’s 2013 book Immigration Wars Bush wrote:
OOPS!
Had the visas been rejected or had the visa-overstays been deported, September 11th would not have happened.
Leaky Immigration System indeed!
Not only was Trump correct, so was Jeb Bush!
The Donald blasting “W.” General election strategy to woo Indie and Dem voters?
Brilliant. He thinks he’s gonna win nom with disgruntled right winger support and a divided vote–30-40% enough? He knows he’ll need some “blame it on Bush” Indies and Dems to actually become Prez.
Top Bushie Karl Rove on Fox tonight He’s not gonna be happy–ya gotta love it.
So tell me… how many State Department, Immigration Service, and intelligence officials did GWB fire or discipline after 9/11 for allowing the hijackers into the country and letting them stay?
That’s right… ZERO. Not one. The Statie in Riyadh who signed off on their visas got a BONUS.
Now keep right on talking about how good a President GWB was.
@Nanny G:
I think that’s a stretch.
What exactly is Trump’s immigration policy? Aside from claiming he’d get Mexico to pay for the border fence, has he spoken at all specifically in regards to issuing visas? Student visas? Does he even know that most of the hijackers were here through visas and not hopping the border?
Really, before 9/11 he would have been tougher on immigration policy and that would have averted 9/11?!
That was in 2011, I believe. 10 years post-9/11. What does it have to do with the 9/11 hijackers?
Really:
Again, nothing about preventing terrorism through immigration policy.
@DaveP.: The fact of the matter is the holes in our system did get patched up, thanks to George W. Bush. From FBI-CIA cooperation, the no-fly list, and such things as the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, created under Bush. Anyone saying that prior to 9/11, if he were leading the country, he would have prevented 9/11 by doing more is selling you bull manure.
@wordsmith:
Funny you should mention this…..
@Rich Wheeler: I see that your guy has bailed out. I guess that means you’ll be going with Bernie now. He promises to raise your taxes for distribution.
@wordsmith:You say “Trump selling bull manure” –bet he negotiated a great price for it.
@Rich Wheeler: He’s promised to give it to the Liberals at no charge. They’re used to that kind of feed.