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Donald Trump compared his take down of Jeb Bush to the invention of the paper clip. | AP Photo Trump: Jeb would have been the nominee without me

In an alternate political universe, one in which Donald Trump decided against seeking the Republican presidential nomination, Jeb Bush would have been the party's nominee. At least that's what Donald Trump thinks.

"I think Jeb would have been the nominee had I not gotten in, but I was able to define Jeb early," Trump told The New York Times, according to excerpts of an interview published Wednesday.

In discussing one such example, Trump pointed to his success in turning around the 9/11 attacks as a negative for the former governor of Florida, comparing his novel tactic to the inventor of the standard paper clip.

"Don’t forget I’m the one that, when Jeb would say, 'The country was safe when my brother was president,' I said, 'Excuse me, the World Trade Center came down.' Do you know, nobody thought of that?" Trump said.

"Nobody thought about the paper clip except for the guy that thought of it, and he became rich," Trump said. "And everyone else said, 'Why didn’t I think of that idea?'"