--- title: Jeb Bush Calls Trump Pathetic description: After The Donald blamed his brother for 9/11 canonical: https://time.com/4077095/jeb-bush-trump-pathetic/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-16T20:29:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T11:52:31.082Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush Calls Trump Pathetic og:description: After The Donald blamed his brother for 9/11 og:url: https://time.com/4077095/jeb-bush-trump-pathetic/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8b3e7dac864df09/698868b1cf40a810b7c403e9/donald-trump5.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush Calls Trump Pathetic twitter:description: After The Donald blamed his brother for 9/11 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8b3e7dac864df09/698868b1cf40a810b7c403e9/donald-trump5.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush Slams 'Pathetic' Trump After 9/11 Remarks  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Oct 16, 2015 8:29 PM CUT  Donald Trump on Oct. 14, 2015 in Richmond, Va. Donald Trump on Oct. 14, 2015 in Richmond, Va.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Oct 16, 2015 8:29 PM CUT Donald Trump has turned outrageous insults into an art form but at least one of his competitors for the 2016 GOP nomination may be stepping up the rhetorical barbs after Trump suggested George W. Bush could be blamed for 9/11. “When you talk about George Bush, say want you want but the World Trade Center came down during his time,” Trump said in an interview with _Bloomberg_’s Stephanie Ruhle Friday. Ruhle had asked how Trump would act in times of crisis that required sensitivity from the president, like 9/11 and the Sandy Hook shootings. “I think I have a bigger heart than all of them. I think I’m more competent than all of them,” he said. A spokesman for George W. Bush said the former president is “definitely not” planning a response of any kind but his brother didn’t let the dig slide. Jeb Bush fired back at Trump mere hours later on Twitter: ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4077095/jeb-bush-trump-pathetic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4077095/jeb-bush-trump-pathetic/"},"headline":"Jeb Bush Slams 'Pathetic' Trump After 9/11 Remarks","datePublished":"2015-10-16T20:29:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:52:31.082Z","description":"The Donald noted the attacks occurred while George W. Bush was in the White House","url":"https://time.com/4077095/jeb-bush-trump-pathetic/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","9/11","september 11","jeb bush","Donald Trump","George Bush"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8b3e7dac864df09/698868b1cf40a810b7c403e9/donald-trump5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8b3e7dac864df09/698868b1cf40a810b7c403e9/donald-trump5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump","caption":"Donald Trump","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4077095/jeb-bush-trump-pathetic/","name":"Jeb Bush Slams 'Pathetic' Trump After 9/11 Remarks"}}]}] ```