It’s now clear: Jeb Bush wants to speak about his brother’s record on 9/11 as much as possible. Donald Trump launched the controversy last Friday when he told Bloomberg News, “When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time.” But then Trump quickly tried to tamp it down. Later that day, after Bush called his remarks “pathetic,” the billionaire candidate refused to answer questions about the controversy while leaving a rally. That night, Trump tried to change the subject, tweeting:

.@JebBush, like it or not, our country needs more energy and spirit than you can provide! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2015

But Bush wouldn’t let him. On Sunday, the former Florida governor told CNN’s Jake Tapper that, “Mr. Trump is probably going to say that FDR was around when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.” The next day on Sean Hannity, he made an even bolder bid to extend the story, saying that the president who really deserves blame for 9/11 is Bill Clinton because “the Clinton administration made a mistake of thinking bin Laden had to be viewed from a law-enforcement perspective.” On Tuesday, Bush wrote a column about the controversy for National Review.

Read the article “Jeb Bush’s Dilemma” on theatlantic.com.