You've probably seen headlines over the course of the past day claiming that George W. Bush went on The Today Show yesterday and slammed President Trump.
He didn't.
You can watch the video of the entire interview right here if you don't believe me, but we need to talk about the way some of Bush's answers are being portrayed. First, go ahead and watch: (Video Pulled-- This is now the NBC Video)
Now, you're hearing two things from the media about this, which supposedly serve as examples of Bush slamming Trump. They are:
1. Bush said the free and independent press is essential to democracy.
2. Bush supports immigration policies that are welcoming and uphold the law.
Supposedly both of these statements represent shots at Trump, because supposedly Trump believes the opposite of both. But in fact, Trump completely agrees with both statements.
Trump's criticisms of the media have been focused on three things: 1. News reports that turn out to be false. 2. The widespread use of anonymous sources. 3. The tendency to focus on trivial, peripheral matters that may or may not make Trump look bad, but don't do anything to inform the public about issues that really matter.
Trump has also said without ambiguity that he wants the press to be strong and do a good job, and that his problem with them is that too many of them do not. There is nothing about this that is inconsistent with what Bush said in this interview.
Regarding the immigration order, first of all, Bush does not criticize the order at any point in the interview. Saying he wants an immigration policy that is welcoming and upholds the law is entirely consistent with the order Trump issued. When NBC Democrat propagandist Matt Lauer asks Bush if the travel order helps or hurts us in the war on terror, Bush simply says we shouldn't retreat. He doesn't ever really say yes or no. I suppose you could argue about what Bush meant by retreat, but you might argue it represents retreat to simply open our borders up to people without vetting them, and to deny that radical Islam is the source of terrorism, which is exactly what Obama did.
At any rate, there is no position Bush takes in this interview that's inconsistent with Trump's actions. Now, I suppose it's possible (although I tend to doubt it) that Bush simply accepts the media's portrayal of Trump's policies, and that he thinks he's in disagreement with him. I think Bush is smarter and pays more attention than that, but let's consider the possibility that he hasn't been. Even if that's the case, and he thinks he's in opposition to Trump on these issues, he's being awfully gentle in his criticism.
Some conservatives are upset because they heard from the headlines that Bush attacked Trump, which seems troubling considering his reluctant to attack Obama for the past eight years. Conservatives should know better than to believe media headlines. Watch the interview and decide for yourself if Bush really attacked Trump - if you don't want to take my word for it. This is why you need to actually watch and listen to things people say and not go by the media's characterization of them. Otherwise you have no idea what actually happened.
By the way, I doubt Bush has forgotten how much of a problem members of the media can be for presidents trying to protect the American people - like, oh, say, Matt Lauer . . .
