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1. When asked if he supported President Trump’s so-called Muslim ban, Bush said: “I am for an immigration policy that’s welcoming and upholds the law.”
1. When asked if he supported President Trump’s so-called Muslim ban, Bush said: “I am for an immigration policy that’s welcoming and upholds the law.”
2. “Power can be very addictive and very corrosive,” Bush said.
2. “Power can be very addictive and very corrosive,” Bush said.
3. “We need an independent media to hold people like me to account,” Bush said.
3. “We need an independent media to hold people like me to account,” Bush said.
4. When asked if he thought the media was the “enemy of the American people,” as Trump has said, Bush said: “And it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere.”
4. When asked if he thought the media was the “enemy of the American people,” as Trump has said, Bush said: “And it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here
5. “We all need answers,” Bush said in reference to the Trump administration’s possible ties with the Russian government.
5. “We all need answers,” Bush said in reference to the Trump administration’s possible ties with the Russian government.
Former President George W. Bush spoke publicly for the first time about the Trump administration’s possible ties with Russia and the recent treatment of the press on NBC’s TODAY show Monday morning.
In an interview with Matt Lauer, Bush said the press was not the enemy of the American people, the Trump administration’s possible ties with Russia need to be investigated, and he supports a “welcoming” immigration policy that upholds the law.
Earlier this month, President Trump called the press the “enemy of the American people.” Bush disagreed.
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“We need an independent media to hold people like me to account,” he said. “Power can be very addictive, and it can be corrosive. And it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere.”
He said he spent “a lot of time” trying to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept an independent press.
“I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy,” he said.
When asked about Trump’s so-called Muslim ban, Bush said he was “for an immigration policy that’s welcoming and upholds the law.”
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He said Trump has only been in office for one month, and he plans to take the president at his word when he says he plans to unite the country. Campaigning is different from the “reality” of the presidency, Bush said.
“The job’s a tough job,” he lamented.
On Trump’s possible ties with Russia, Bush said: “We all need answers.”
“I think we all need answers … I’m not sure the right avenue to take. I am sure, though, that that question needs to be answered,” he said.
Bush was visiting the show to promote his book of original paintings,”Portraits of Courage: A commander in chief’s tribute to America’s warriors.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
kbradshaw@express-news.net
Twitter: @kbrad5
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