Donald Trump Accuses George W. Bush Of Lying To Invade Iraq

[Stuart G]

Last edited Sun Feb 14, 2016, 09:09 AM - Edit history (5)

Source: Huff Post

2/13/16 updated 10:30pm,.

Amanda Terkel,, Sam Stein..

Donald Trump took former President George W. Bush to task Saturday night, accusing him of lying to get the country into the Iraq War and faulting him for not keeping America safe.

"They lied," Trump said during the CBS News GOP presidential debate. "They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none. And they knew there were none. There were no weapons of mass destruction."

Trump has been outspoken about his dislike of the war in Iraq (though he's fudged the facts about how early he was publicly speaking out against it).

But his comments Saturday night went a step beyond his usual critique. Even Republican skeptics of the war argue that Bush acted with good intentions, so the fact that the Republican frontrunner is the one making the charge is remarkable

"We spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives. ... Obviously, it was a mistake," Trump said. "George Bush made a mistake. We can make mistakes. But that one was a beauty. We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East."



Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-george-bush-iraq-invasion_us_56bfe8cbe4b0b40245c6f94b

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No Republican has ever said anything like this. We have, but they haven't. "They lied" is an extremely powerful sentence. Everyone knows it, but for a Republican presidential candidate to tell the truth, during a debate, as the article points out, is remarkable. Also, it is Trump who is telling the truth.
So, to cover the truth up, all the others will have to lie too. What a show Trump has created. .......

[EdwardBernays]

1. Now

We see how the media reacts and if the narrative changes.

Trump just made some powerful enemies.

[Volaris]

46. What are their greedy asses going to do?

NOT put him on screen?


This election is about to expose the Corporate State for what they really are: Stateless, soulless cutthroat motherfuckers who don't care about anything but PROFIT MARGINS.

Donald Trump told the truth about iraq, and probably destroyed any other republicans' candidates chances to win the WH in the process.
The ONLY candidate who doesn't fall into that category is Berne Sanders. If we nominate Hillary now, we will wear her IW vote like a Scarlett Letter, TehDonald will see to it.

[EdwardBernays]

49. There's a lot of truth to this

If the media admits that we were lied into the Iraq War then Hillary's IW vote is a even larger liability than it is now, especially against Donald Trump.

[AllyCat]

2. Timely. Years , money, and lives later...

But for a change, I agree with him.

[Stuart G]

4. So do I, and many others (millions of others) also agree.

No Republican has ever used the work.. "LIED " .. and that is news..

[Helen Borg]

3. There is clear evidence Cheney and Rumsfeld lied about it.

Given that they had read the intel reports (now declassified). There is no clear evidence GWB knew the details, I think. He just did not care and trusted the others.

[Carolina]

16. True, he did not care

but I don't know that he trusted the big boys in the room. He just did what he was told to do

There is no trust or honor among thieves and liars

[7962]

28. Thats why I've always put more blame on Cheney.

Bush trusted him, which you would expect to be able to do with your VP. And likely why Bush hardly ever says anything about Iraq. I bet if you could give him truth serum he'd tell you he's pissed at the Dick

[BeyondGeography]

5. Trump's candidacy has been inflammatory and bad for the country

But to have those truths spelled out to a yahoo crowd at a GOP debate with Bush's brother on the stage was a thing of beauty.

[Stardust]

8. Indeed, it was a thing of beauty.

[Blue_Adept]

6. These are statements that we can cheer about

We may not like the messenger, but the message needs to be out there more to try and dislodge some Republican voters from their belief that it was right. They've convinced themselves of the rightness of it even as the info stacked against them says it's not. Things like this help them to let go of that belief.

[Stuart G]

24. Very well said, I agree with you completely.

"Things like this help them,.( some Republican voters.)..dislodge from their head that it was right"..

Most of us know, it (Iraq War) was wrong...but to call Bush a "liar" is very important. Because he is and it defines him..Bush also said, "The United States does not torture."..and he approved it.

Defining Bush as a "liar" is the truth. And doing this in front of his brother, during a puke debate is indeed incredible, and very important indeed...

[skepticscott]

30. The message has been "Out there"

for over a decade. For anyone rational, anyone who cares. The rest are immune to any facts that might shatter their fragile little worldview bubble. They certainly aren't going to be persuaded by Donald Trump saying it.

[Gore1FL]

35. This won't persuade them, you are right.

Him saying it forces the dialogue among people who don't wish to have it. That alone puts a(nother) crack in the facade. Trump has done a lot to harm the Bush's this cycle.

[Nay]

53. Are you kidding, Scott? The frontrunner for the Republican nomination

says these truths and it won't have an effect? Certainly it has never had an effect when Democrats, analysts, historians, etc., said it, but the Republican frontrunner? It is going to have an enormous effect on the people who are Trump supporters. If they want to keep supporting Trump, the fact that he is hammering on all sorts of common Republican delusions will eventually wear away the bullshit.

[skepticscott]

56. Any people amenable to facts and logical arguments

would have abandoned the Republican Party long ago. Anyone who still supports the party of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie is far beyond any hope of rationality.

[Nay]

57. Of course they are immune to rationality. But they are not immune to

propaganda techniques. Trump is worming his way into their minds with a different set of facts/factoids, and let's see if they stick. If they're repeated often often enough, Trump's proclamations will be what sticks. Hitler and Bernays paved the way.

[scottie55]

58. "Trump is worming his way into their minds"

Radical Dumbasses do not have minds.

They are Rush Limbaugh, Fox News inspired vegetables.

Completely brain dead.

No intention to dis vegetables.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Will either Dick or Liz Cheney respond to Trump?

I can't imagine either or both would let him have the last word on this issue.

[PearliePoo2]

17. Oh how I HOPE so!

Liz has political ambitions (again) so she'll naturally come to the defense of her evil P.O.S. daddy.
I can hardly wait to see Trump rip them to shreds and spit them out.
Remember, Trump is genuinely, truly pissed off. He just said that hundreds of his friends died, so of course he's taking this very personally.

[eridani]

9. If Clinton is the nominee and Trump runs to her left on this--

--we could be totally fucked.

[DhhD]

11. So true. GOP may start speaking about what Clinton was told by Conservatives.

[Nyan]

13. That's what I thought.

She's gonna be ripped into shreds for IRW.
I have to say, Trump is the strongest weapon they got on their side. And I really don't think she can beat him. Bernie, on the other hand, has a good chance of beating him.

[Carolina]

18. So very true

If he hammers on how a lie led to so much death, debt, destruction and destabilization, then points out how those in positions to stop it or at least vote against it were either weak or dumb, HRC is screwed.

[houston16revival]

22. Exactly, that is already Trump's end game here

He swerves all over politically, trashing this and that. He's a real narcissist,
manipulator. He draws you in with surprise and great sounding ideas, then
goes against the grain and on to the next victims.

I hope the GOP gets it's act together and finds a real candidate. Trump
has no diplomacy, no sound judgment.

[BillZBubb]

76. Trump is the best they've got. The rest are right wing loons.

There is no "real candidate". He's the best of all the repug potentials which says something. And what it says isn't good.

[restorefreedom]

41. wih bernie, the iwr will be a non issue in the ge

since he and trump were against. but yes, hillary is toast if it is hillary vs the donald

[Kittycat]

84. But I'm bagging popcorn if that debate happens.

All the cats are going to come out of the bag screaming.

[houston16revival]

23. That is their game.

You've hit the nail on the head.

[Odin2005]

67. That is EXACTLY why Trump is doing this.

He's appealing to folks disgusted by the Neocon BS in both parties.

[bbgrunt]

78. add to that his statements about social security and TPP and I think you're right.

[MH1]

10. Is this a strategy to expand his G.E. base? (don't laugh too much ...)

If he thinks he has the nomination pretty much sewn up, he could be looking to start peeling off wishy-washy quasi-liberals who can be wooed by stuff like this. Which is really just a case of stating the obvious that other republicans refuse to state.

While it would be nice for a republican to actually say this and mean it, we need to keep in mind that Trump is no more a republican than he is a democrat. He is just a narcissist; his "party" is himself. He is just using the republican party as an easier path to get nominated. Although I still think that in the beginning it was all just a marketing stunt. Then he realized that these numbnutzes really are that stupid, and he could play them all the way into the nomination and then possibly the White House, and he decided he kind of liked that idea too.

Now that he thinks he's got the nomination nailed, he's trying to peel off the numbnutzes that otherwise would be more likely to vote for our side.

Expect more truth-isms that are targeted to peeling off our numbnutzes. Trump is many things, most of them not good at all, but he is not stupid, at least not when it comes to advancing himself. And this is really just a game for him. What if he loses? Nothing much, he just goes home and tries out the next marketing strategy.

[DhhD]

12. The Democratic Movement needs Sanders more and more each day. no text

[Stellar]

47. Trump said every dumb thing he could in the beginning...

but I don't think he thought he would ever get this far along in the competition. I think he is more shocked by it all. He has said some of the dumbest/insulting stuff about men, women and vets and those teaparty people loved him more, saying he's just telling the truth, he speaks his mind.

I think Trump has been looking for ways to get out of this competition, but to date nothing has worked.

Being a dumazz is just NO reason to drop out of the race for the presidency, it would seem. That's what they like in their candidate.

[BuelahWitch]

75. "How the hell can I ditch these rubes?"

Yep, I think you're right. Whether or not he believes it, he said one of the things that would piss off the rank and file conservative (the other being "George Bush stole the 2000 election&quot . He's looking for a way out of this thing, and he may have found it.

[Stellar]

85. I sure hope you're right, LOL. nt

[erlewyne]

14. Trump better shut up.

He's going to get us in Nuremberg.

[Carolina]

19. Good

I would love to see the whole Bush Cabal there

[roamer65]

40. ...or the Bush Crime Family will arrange a "hit".

[Reter]

82. Poppy already took out one President and came within an inch of taking out another

The Bush family is very dangerous.

[Not Sure]

15. "We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East."

Somebody needs to pull Trump aside and let him know this was the whole point. Skirmishes and uncertainty in the ME keep prices high, and that's what our masters in the oil business want.

[7962]

27. Well they've failed then. I just paid 1.40 for gas. nt

[Not Sure]

48. It worked for a long time

Until drill baby drill and Iranian oil. Notice how trigger happy some people are wrt the ME.

[agincourt]

20. This confirms my theory,

that Trump is an attempt by the GOP to look like they're reinventing themselves while still protecting the 1% class warfare on American workers. Don't be fooled independent voters.

[houston16revival]

21. Trump has Destroyed

what's left of the Republican Party, and now

he is turning left to appeal to Democrats and Independents

All he'll have to do is finish off the Democratic Nominee

Trump is a dangerously loose cannon

[jamzrockz]

25. Ofc

The Pauls have been saying the same things for years but they don't have the same level of celebrity as Trump so when they say it, nobody listens.

[7962]

26. Trump has been saying that for years.

He just doesnt care if he pisses off the 17 people who still think it was a good idea

[jamzrockz]

37. That is because he has been a democrat for years

And this is just one of the spill over policies he has kept since he decided to fake being a republican.

[Gregorian]

29. The ghastly faces immediately afterwards. Like saying that which shall not be mentioned.

It wasn't just a Wizard of Oz moment, but one exposed so fully, and boldly, it just hung in the air in slow motion while everyone realized that they had heard it. On national tv.

One more notch for the warmongers' worry list.

[Green Texan]

31. Trump just says what other people have already said

Trump was right in what he said, but what a lot of people have not noticed is that Trump just waits to see what most voters are saying and then he'll just repeat it. Trump knows that if he says he was against the war in Iraq, a lot of people will agree with him. The good thing about all this is, Trump is making the GOP look even worse than it already did.

[SylviaD]

32. I am experiencing something I never thought I would experience...

...positive feelings towards Donald Trump.

[jamzrockz]

38. Lol

You can't be serious. The man is a fraud, he is not going to be president. But lucky for you, he is there to destroy the republicans and help Hillary win the general election.

So you should be very excited if you really support Hillary as your avatar suggests. Btw, before someone tries to alert this post, I am not calling the poster a troll.

[Crowman1979]

45. +1 Agree! I find it suspect that Trump is now against the Iraq war.

While Bernie was against it right from the start.

[Odin2005]

68. As opposed to the woman in your avatar, who voted for that disgusting war?

[SylviaD]

86. Guilty of being naive about the extent of Republican lies, that's all. n/t

[JudyM]

33. What a day! The end of Scalia's oppression and the Big Truth revealed by the Rethug frontrunner.

Wonderful to absorb this moment in time.

[joshdawg]

34. Even a blind hog finds an acorn.............

every once in a while. Took Chump at least a year to find one.
He's still a jackass and a raging narcissist who is all bluster and insulting of others.

[SylviaD]

36. but... he said it. He actually SAID it. I'm taking a break from criticizing him. n/t

[think]

39. This should have been in the headlines in all the major media. Seriously.

The GOP front runner for president of the United States accuses a former Republican president of lying to send America to war.

That is HUGE....

[yellowwoodII]

42. I'm Liking Trump Better

No, not enough to vote for him, but---better.
There are many in our party who lied, too, because it was the expedient thing to do.

[CommonSenseDemocrat]

77. The problem is, Trump is electable ... Especially if our nominee voted for IWR

[SylviaD]

87. Trump is not electable.

I will cheer at his denunciation of Bush...but there is no way America votes for this odious man.

[woundedkarma]

43. End of the worlddddddd... *dramatic music*

What if he does get into the presidency, we all need to start buying nuclear shelters again because the first time Trump goes against Putin it will be insults and curses and rapidly scale beyond sanity. Neither one of them is going to back down because they'll be so sure the other is less than them and will cave. And the point will come when they realize this. But it will be too late to stop it because their vanity and machismo won't let them.

[Enthusiast]

44. I'm glad he said it. Everyone should say it. Bush should be a pariah.

But Trump is so fucking ignorant that he thinks torture is acceptable. Torture is never acceptable!

Now that we are telling the truth maybe Trump should admit that the 2000 election was stolen with the help of Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris, and the SCOTUS. That would raise some eyebrows. Imagine the shock value, something Trump seems to value.

[valerief]

50. This is why people like Trump. Sometimes he tells the truth. None of the other GOP

candidates ever tell the truth.

[SmittynMo]

51. 100% correct

Did Bush keep us safe during his tenure? No. Everyone knows he did not, yet the GOP thinks he did. He was responsible for all occurrences between 2000-2008. 9/11 clearly falls within these dates. So how can they still say he kept us safe? After 9/11, yes.
During his tenure - NO!!!!

And yes, they did lie about WMD's. And yes, the result of their lies cost a lot of money and lives.

How they can continue to deny the real facts, blows everyone away.

So, this is what establishment politics looks like on the right?

And they(GOP) wonder why no one is looking at an ex politician as their leader this time around?

[Jarqui]

52. Trump might have exploded a few diehards heads with that

And his shot at Rubio when Rubio said Bush "kept us safe"
Trump "How did he keep us safe when the World Trade Center came down?"

Trump:"I want to tell you, they lied, they said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none and they knew there were none. There were no weapons of mass destruction"
Trump:"The World Trade Center came down during the reign of George Bush"
Trump:"Obviously it was a mistake. George Bush made a mistake, we can make mistakes, but that one was a beauty. We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East."
Trump:"Obviously the war in Iraq is a big fat mistake"

Bush "While Donald Trump was building a reality TV show, my brother was building a security apparatus to keep us save and I'm proud of what he did"
Trump "The World Trade Center came down!"

Bush "My Mom is the strongest woman I know ..."
Trump "she should be running"

I think video like this will get a few views in the days ahead. I bookmarked it.

[Backwoodsrider]

54. Time for the truth

Somebody just called Bush Jr a liar on stage in front of thousands of lobbiests that like Bush and it shook their world. Any public speaker know how hard it is to speak to "Boos" but Trump sure did.

HE STILL SAID IT AND REPEATED THE POINT AGAIN FOR EFFECT! Nobody in DU is going to vote for Trump especially me but fact is Trump was speaking truth to power last night and for that he has my respect.

A lot of us thought this was going to happen but not so soon, we are witnessing the destruction of the GOP by use of the truth and its wonderful.

[ladjf]

55. Trump knew what many, if not most, Americans knew at the time it happened. nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

59. This backs up the CT that he's secretly a Liberal destroying the Republican Party from within.

[Botany]

60. Trump is right .... 935 documented times bush, Cheney, Condi, Rummy, Powell, and so lied

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/06/24/14969/search-935-iraq-war-false-statements

They lied to start a war no doubt.

[rurallib]

61. Also puts the others in the unenviable position of defending the worst president ever

hee hee hee hee

[EndElectoral]

62. My God I agree with something Trump said.

[roamer65]

63. Whether u like him or hate him...

Trump stood up there and told the truth. God bless him for it.

Trump isn't running to be the Rethuglican nominee, he's running for President with statements like these.

If they don't nominate him, he will run as an independent.

[Babel_17]

64. The small percentage of primary voters who agree with him, are now basically his

It's a huge issue to those who were against the invasion, or who later were disgusted that we'd been lied to.
Fans of the invasion are split among the rest of the candidates. The majority of voters, those just not happy about how thing went, might see Trump as at least being honest about his opinion, and strong about expressing it.

The Republican debates are a horror show, but it's important for our country to not misremember our history. It's now harder for politicians like Jeb! to spin his bullshytt.

[CullenBohannon]

65. Good

Sticking it to Bush co. Trump actually has the sanest foreign policy of the GOP candidates. The establishment on both sides wants more involvement in Syria and conflict with Russia.

[Odin2005]

66. Is that a pig I just saw flying outside???

[yurbud]

69. it was actually worse than no WMD: even if they had them, they would be zero threat to us

No one would dare use a nuke on us or give it to terrorists to use on us since we have THOUSANDS of nukes to retaliate with and are the only country to have nuked another country.

The debate at that time was surreal. It was like 90% of those in Congress were pretending they were in a Steven Segal movie or a crappy comic book.

[freebrew]

70. My jaw dropped when I heard that ....

can't wait for the Neo-Con(Cheney) response.


This should be good...

[speaktruthtopower]

71. Tapping into the

voter's unspoken concerns about what they weren't told about 9/11 and the WOT and implying they would be given closer scrutiny would make interesting politics. I suspect there's a lot more of that on even the Republican side than most would suspect.

[CommonSenseDemocrat]

72. So the 2016 election will come down to a person who supported and a person who opposed the war in

Iraq?

[lastlib]

73. For once (and only once), I agree with the SOB!

Didn't think I would ever say that........

[tclambert]

74. I don't like the word "accuses" in that title. It should read "points out that"

or "reminds listeners." "Accuses" implies the facts are in doubt.

[Nite Owl]

79. I'm glad he said it

when we said it we were considered way out there.
I'm agreeing with the Donald, how sad things have become.

[lunatica]

80. I see the Donald can actually be useful for once

I do hope he repeats it again and again and again and again......

[Reter]

81. I actually think Trump has a chance of winning NY against Hillary

If they are both nominated, it's gonna be fun in the main debates if he runs to her left on this.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

83. I wonder if the author is Studs Terkel's daughter. n/t