WASHINGTON — (CNN) Jeb Bush and Donald Trump traded barbs Friday over how much responsibility George W. Bush shared for the 9/11 terror attacks.
“How pathetic for @realdonaldtrump to criticize the president for 9/11. We were attacked & my brother kept us safe,” Bush tweeted.
The feud began Friday morning when Trump implied earlier Friday that the former president could share some blame for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, as he was in office at the time.
“When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time,” Trump said Friday morning on Bloomberg TV.
Bloomberg anchor Stephanie Ruhle interjected, “Hold on, you can’t blame George Bush for that,” before Trump stood by his comments.
“He was president, OK? … Blame him, or don’t blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign,” Trump said.
The comments came in response to a question from Ruhle about Trump’s “soft hand.” She said the world had seen his strong side, but Bush after 9/11 and President Barack Obama after the Sandy Hook massacre both had to stand in front of America and show a different side of them.
“I need to know that you will make us feel safe and you will make us feel proud,” Ruhle said to Trump.
“I think I have a bigger heart than all of them. I think I’m much more competent than all of them,” Trump said, before getting into the criticism of Bush.
He didn’t spare Obama — though he did not seem to lay the blame for the school shooting at his feet in the same way as Bush.
“If you look at Sandy Hook, those people are still begging for help. It’s a disaster, and it’s a disaster all over the place,” Trump said.
“What we need is a leader, we don’t have leader,” he added.
Bush’s response to 9/11 was widely praised.
Trump has previously taken aim at Bush, calling his presidency a “disaster.”
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