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George W. Bush opens
up on Trump's war with the media, travel ban, Russia and veterans
Eun
Kyung Kim
TODAY
In his first in-depth interview since Donald
Trump’s inauguration, former President George W. Bush gave his take on the
current commander in chief’s first month in office, addressing Trump’s attack
on the media, his controversial immigration policy, and the Russian hacking
scandal.
Early
on in the exclusive sit-down, the former president expressed a clear-eyed
support for the news media, saying a free press was "indispensable to
democracy."
"We
need an independent media to hold people like me to account," Bush told
TODAY'S Matt Lauer.
"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."
Bush
was asked about the media's role in light of President Donald Trump's recent
characterization of the media as the "enemy of the American people."
He noted he spent a lot of time during his two terms trying to convince Russian
President Vladimir Putin to embrace an independent press.
Bush
also addressed the controversy over Trump advisers and the role they may have
played in the scandal involving Russian hackers who tried to intervene in the
election, saying he would leave questions about whether a special prosecutor
should investigate up to the Senate intelligence committee leaders.
“I
think we all need answers,” he said, going to on praise North Carolina Senator
Richard Burr, the head of the U.S. Senate intelligence committee. “I’m not sure
the right avenue to take. I am sure, though, that that question needs to be
answered."
Bush,
the last Republican to occupy the White House, also was asked about President
Trump's controversial executive order that banned immigrants from predominantly
Muslim nations.
Asked
pointedly if he favored or opposed the policy, Bush said, "I am for an
immigration policy that is welcoming and upholds the law."
Bush
won the 2000 presidential election after one of the most contentious and
controversial decisions in American history. He took office after a divided
Supreme Court ruled over a dispute involving a contested recount in Florida.
Bush
also returned to the show to discuss his new book, "Portraits of
Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors," a collection of portraits of some of the
military veterans he has met.
Proceeds
of the book will be donated to the George W. Bush Presidential Center, a
non-profit organization that helps post-Sept. 11 veterans and their families
make successful transitions to civilian life.
"I
want to sell a lot of books to raise money for helping our vets," he said,
expressing "great pride" in getting to know the veterans he featured
in the book, including four who appeared with him on TODAY.
Bush
noted that many of the veterans he met used peer-to-peer counseling in their
healing process, a process that allowed them to open up about their wounds that
weren't always visible.
"It
starts with ...vets saying, 'I’ve got a problem.' There’s a lot of denial
because there’s a stigma. So our message is, it’s courageous to talk about it
and seek help," he said.
Army
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Rodriguez, who suffered a traumatic brain injury while
deployed overseas, said Bush's outreach to veterans, which included inviting
them to his Texas ranch home, inspired him to do the same.
"When
I saw that he reached out and he opened his heart and home to us, in the caring
way that President Bush does, it inspired me to try to connect with people as
well," he said.
The
portraits are also currently on display as part of an exhibition at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas,
Texas.
