GOP front-runner Donald Trump is tripling down on blaming President George W. Bush for the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said the president is ultimately responsible for what happens on his watch, pointing out three things he would have done differently were he in the White House in 2001.
"You always have to look to the person at the top," Trump told the Post. "Do I blame George Bush? I only say that he was the president at the time, and you know, you could say the buck stops here."
Trump's three points of disagreement with Bush: Immigration policy, cross-departmental communication and foreknowledge an attack was likely.
"We had very weak immigration laws," Trump said. He said that under "the strong laws that I’m wanting, these terrorists wouldn’t have been in the country."
The FBI, National Security Council, and CIA weren’t talking to each other about what they knew about possible threats, and the fact was well-known, Trump said. "If I'm president, I want to have my three most important agencies talking to each other and coordinating with each other."
And Bush's CIA Director George Tenet "knew in advance that there would be an attack, and he said that," Trump said.
While insisting, "I don’t blame anybody," Trump added that "perhaps something could have been done that was obviously better than the worst attack ever perpetrated on the United States."
Trump has been feuding with Bush rival, former Florida Jeb Bush, over his brother's responsibility in the attacks that occurred seven-and-a half months after he took office.
Trump said in a Friday interview with Bloomberg News "the World Trade Center came down during [former president Bush’s] reign."
Jeb Bush responded on Twitter with the same line he used in the second Republican debate.
On Saturday, Bush's campaign released an ad questioning Trump's own ability to lead.
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