Heresy:
In an interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Trump was asked how he would demonstrate compassion during a crisis such as a hurricane or attacks on the World Trade Center. Saying that he has more heart and is more competent than the leaders who dealt with those tragedies, Mr. Trump then criticized the former president.
“When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time,” Mr. Trump said.
That fact and all its implications may be obvious to the rest of us but it is
absolutely taboo-speak to the GOP.
Nonetheless, Trump doubled down:
Blaming 9/11 on Mr. Bush is taboo for Republicans and has largely been off-limits for Democrats. Pressed on whether he really meant to blame the attacks on Mr. Bush, the billionaire developer did not back down.
“He was president, O.K.?,” Mr. Trump said. “The World Trade Center came down during his reign.”
Yeah. For the Republican Party, this, at long last, is the Rubicon. This is the line that must not be crossed. Trump just crossed it.
It will be very interesting to see how the GOP Establishment reacts. The last thing they want to do is provoke a robust re-examination of the events leading up to 9/11, the Bush Administration's gross negligence in ignoring clear warnings about Bin Laden's intentions, or their contrived attempts to link the disastrous War on Iraq to those same attacks.
But now, I think, these ought to be reviewed. Don't you? In fact, if the Republican Party is now prepared to acknowledge that George W. Bush's negligence or incompetence caused or contributed to the 9/11 attacks, there is a lot of history to revisit in the coming election year.
The Times is only partially correct when they say that the topic is off-limits for Democrats. It may be off-limits for elected Democrats who are compelled to pay homage to every mention of our holy relic known as "9/11."
But it's not off limits for the rest of us. If the Republican frontrunner for President now acknowledges that 9/11 was Bush's failure, which is exactly what Trump implied, we should be asking every Republican in elective office whether they agree, and if not, why not. The American people deserve no less. Trump might have actually done the country a service that no Democrat could have accomplished.
As might be expected, Jeb Bush was quick to react to this heresy against Republican dogma:
Not surprisingly, Trump’s critique drew a sharp rebuke from one of his rivals. Jeb Bush, the former president’s younger brother, tweeted that Trump was “pathetic” to attack Bush over the terror attack, adding that “my brother kept us safe.”
Did he? I guess we need to talk about that now, Jeb.
UPDATE: It appears that Trump has gone into his default coward mode after making these statements.
UPDATE II: Nope, Trump has in fact tripled down on his position.
Popcorn, anyone?