Wednesday at CNN’s Republican presidential debate, Republican front-runner Donald Trump criticized former President George W. Bush for going into the Iraq war.
Both Jeb Bush jumped to the defense of his brother Bush, saying it was President Barack Obama pulling out of Iraq, leaving a vacuum which ISIS filled, that is responsible for the current chaos throughout the Middle East.
Trump said, “But I have to say something because it is about judgment. I am the only person that fought very, very hard against us, and I wasn’t a sitting politician, going into Iraq because I said going into Iraq, that was in 2003, you can check it out, check out — I’ll give you stories. In fact, a delegation was sent to my office to see me because I was so vocal about it. I’m a very militaristic person but you have to know when to use the military. I’m the only person up here that fought against going into Iraq.”
Bush responded., “Here’s the facts. when Donald Trump talks about judgment, what was his position on who would have been the best negotiator to deal with Iran? It was Hillary Clinton. That’s what you believe. I mean, the lack of judgment and the lack of understanding about how the world works is really dangerous in this kind of time we’re seeing. So is that the judgment that you bring to the table, that Hillary Clinton is a great negotiator, that she could bring about a better…”
Trump shot back, “Your brother and your brother’s administration gave us Barack Obama because it was such a disaster those last three months that Abraham Lincoln couldn’t have been elected.”
Bush countered, “You know what? As it relates to my brother, there is one thing I know for sure, he kept us safe. I don’t know if you remember, Donald. You remember the rubble? You remember the firefighter with his arms around it? He sent a clear signal that the United States would be strong and fight Islamic terrorism and he did keep us safe.”
Trump said, “I don’t know. you feel safe now? I don’t feel so safe.”
Bush replied, “That’s because of Barack Obama. That’s because of Barack Obama. We had had a president who called ISIS the JV squad, Yemen a success story, Iran a place we could do business with. It is not because of George W. Bush, it is because of Barack Obama.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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