Stephen Bannon said there “has not been a more destructive presidency than George Bush’s,” while arguing that Bush “embarrassed himself” with a “high falutin” speech which criticized President Trump, CNN reports.
He added that Bush “has no earthly idea of whether he’s coming or going… just like it was when he was president.”
“That was some weird shit.”
— Former President George W. Bush, quoted by New York Magazine, at Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
“Yes, I don’t like the racism and I don’t like the name-calling and I don’t like people feeling alienated. Nobody likes that.”
— Former President George W. Bush, in an interview with People magazine, on the Trump administration.
“After eight years of largely abstaining from politics, former President George W. Bush is throwing himself into an effort to save his party’s most vulnerable senators, including several whose re-election campaigns have been made more difficult by Donald Trump’s presence at the top of the ticket,” the New York Times reports.
“In the weeks since Mr. Trump emerged as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Mr. Bush has headlined fund-raisers for two Republican senators and has made plans to help three more. Among them are Senators John McCain of Arizona, who was one of Mr. Trump’s earliest targets of derision, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who has struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s inflammatory talk.”
Coming this summer: Bush by Jean Edward Smith.
“Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans’ civil liberties.”
Dana Milbank: “I had a twinge of nostalgia watching George W. Bush campaign for his little brother in South Carolina Monday night… He was earthy… Bush was corny… He was also self-deprecating.”
“But mostly, W’s cameo in the 2016 campaign served as a reminder that, not too long ago, conservative politics wasn’t so beastly. Bush, wading into the manure pile that is the 2016 Republican primary fight, was pleasant, civil and decent.”
“The worst attack ever in this country? It was during his presidency.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by the New York Times, attacking former President George W. Bush.
Jeb Bush told Bloomberg that his brother, former President George W. Bush, would campaign with him in South Carolina.
Said Bush: “He’s the most popular Republican alive… It may go against the conventional wisdom outside of the Republican world.”
Politico: “In a never-before-reported meeting in Bush’s Dallas office, Cruz began to outline his 2012 campaign playbook for the former president… Cruz explained how he would consolidate conservatives yearning for a political outsider, how he would outflank the front-runner on the right, how he would proudly carry the mantle of the ascendant tea party to victory over entrenched elites.”
“It was impressive foreshadowing. But Bush cut Cruz off before he could finish.”
Said Bush: “I guess you don’t want my support. Ted, what the hell do you think I am?”
Sen. Ted Cruz “has said that after working on George W. Bush’s 2000 campaign, being passed over for a senior position with the new administration was ‘a crushing blow.’ Turns out, it was his own fault,” the AP reports.
“Cruz was offered a job as White House associate counsel shortly after Al Gore conceded the race in December, but he rejected it, members of the Bush transition team told The Associated Press. Cruz thought he was in line for the more senior role of deputy White House counsel.”
Former President George W. Bush “is set to headline a luncheon fundraiser for the Jeb Bush presidential campaign in New York on Sept. 10, according to several people familiar with the event, part of an expanding role he is playing to help raise money for his younger brother’s White House bid,” the Washington Post reports.
“The New York luncheon was originally set to take place on Sept. 8 but had to be rescheduled for Sept. 10, putting the former president in the city the day before the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
“I’m confident Jeb and Hillary will elevate the discourse. I can’t speak for their surrogates. Except for this surrogate (pointing at himself). But I’m not a surrogate.”
— George W. Bush, quoted by KMBZ.
“I’m comfortable in my life. There is one thing I miss, looking in the eyes of the people who serve this country and saluting them.”
— George W. Bush, quoted by the Washington Post, before adding he also misses the showers on Air Force One and the personal pastry chef.
Jeb Bush won’t commit to campaigning alongside his brother, former President George W. Bush, the Washington Post reports.
Said Jeb: “He’s been helpful already. He’s helped — in gatherings where it wasn’t inconvenient for him. And I — sure I’d love to have his help. But — by the way — the last time I saw my brother’s approval rating, or favorability rating, it’s higher than that of President Obama’s. He’s — he’s had a pretty good post-presidency.”
He added: “I’m– you know, I’m George’s brother, I love him. I know for me to be successful, this has to be about my ideas and about my life experience and about the future.”
“There is only one thing that I really miss about being president, and that’s being the commander-in-chief.”
— George W. Bush, quoted by The Hill.
Former President George W. Bush told Israel Hayom that the United States will need combat troops on the ground to defeat the Islamic State.
Said Bush: “The president will have to make that determination. My position was that you need to have boots on the ground… We will see whether or not our government adjusts to the realities on the ground.”
New York Times: “When Mr. Bush’s brother George first ran for president, he erroneously referred to Greeks as ‘Grecians,’ flubbed the name of India’s president and confused Slovenia with Slovakia, offering the world an unabashed portrait of provinciality.”
“But across Europe this week, Jeb Bush revealed himself to be a very different kind of Bush: well traveled, almost encyclopedically knowledgeable about foreign countries, and possessing the genuine inquisitiveness that his brother had so notably lacked… Mr. Bush’s trip here has been a reminder that his attempt to escape the shadow of his older brother, as awkward and halting as it may be, is not just a political strategy. It reflects how dissimilar the two men really are, in temperament, interests and preparation.”
“When asked this week at an exclusive Manhattan gathering about who advises him on U.S.-Israel policy, Jeb Bush surprised many of the 50-plus attendees by naming his brother, former president George W. Bush, as his most influential counselor,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Bush: “If you want to know who I listen to for advice, it’s him.”
“The remark came as part of an answer to a question about Bush’s political advisers and their policy views. Bush was pressed for details about who he surrounds himself with and consults as he thinks through his positions, guests said.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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