Former President George Bush likes to joke that President Donald Trump’s chaotic White house makes his administration look “pretty good”.
The former president apparently enjoys cracking jokes at the President’s expense, and is often unable to grasp why the White House is always in a state of chaos, according to a report in the National Journal.
“Bush is often heard to remark, unable to stifle his trademark smirk: ‘Sorta makes me look pretty good, doesn’t it?’ “ the National Journal reported, quoting a Republican source.
“He’s shaking his head like everyone else wondering why they can’t get their act together,” the source said. “He wants the guy to succeed but thinks a lot of his problems are self-inflicted.”
While Mr Bush is not known as an ally of Mr Trump, he has so far mostly refrained from public criticism of the fellow Republican’s administration. That is in contrast to former President Barack Obama, who has broken from post-presidential norms and has been highly vocal of Mr Trump and the work he is doing on several fronts.
Mr Bush, who favoured his brother Jeb Bush during the 2016 Republican primaries, is however rumoured to have said that Mr Trump’s inauguration speech was “some weird s***”.
Mr Bush’s father, a fellow president and a fellow George, has joined Mr Obama in vocally criticising Mr Trump, however.
“I don’t like him,” the senior Mr Bush wrote in a recent book of his. “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.”
Of course, the Bush family is not the only source of Republican criticism of Mr Trump. In the run-up to the general election in 2016 and the primaries, several top Republicans disavowed Mr Trump and his divisive rhetoric.
While some of criticised him since he became President, Republicans in Congress have largely stood by his side legislatively.
