Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush both have blunt words for President Donald Trump in a new book, with the elder Bush calling the current commander-in-chief a "blowhard."
His son, reports CNN, further commented that Trump "doesn't know what it means to be president." Further, neither man voted for Trump — the elder Bush says he voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, while his son voted "none of the above" in the presidential race, while voting for GOP candidates in all the rest of the races.
The revelations are part of a new book about the father and son by historian Mark Updegrove, "The Last Republicans." In the book, the elder Bush, now 93 was the most critical of Trump, telling Updegrove in May 2016 that "I don't like him. I don't know much about him, but I know he's a blowhard. And I'm not too excited about him being a leader."
Updegrove told CNN that the comments make sense if one looks at the Bush family, as Trump is "everything that the Bush family is not."
"George Bush grew up thinking about the greater good," Updegrove told CNN. "Donald Trump is manifestly narcissistic. It's part of his brand. And that brand is the antithesis of the Bush brand."
The elder Bush also commented, in the book, that he thought Trump was seeking office because he has a "certain ego." He also said that he thought Trump could unite the country, but that doing so would require "humility," which would be a challenge for the then-candidate.
Bush's son also told Updegrove that humility is a "certain heritage" in his family, but "we're not seeing that."
He also did not think Trump would win the presidency, and was surprised when he ended up as the nominee. Bush's brother, Jeb, who had at one time been considered an early favorite, dropped out of the race in February 2016.
Neither of the former presidents would comment to CNN about the book, because as a policy they do not make statements about books, but they confirmed they'd spoken with Updegrove on the record.
The younger Bush also said he decided not to vote for Clinton, like his father, because he was concerned about her character and judgment.
"'In my presence, she was polite ... thoughtful," he told Updegrove, but "obviously tangled up in bad judgment. This email thing, putting confidential information out there in a world where all kinds of people can figure out how to get your emails was not good judgment."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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