Report: George W. Bush swipes at Donald Trump's foreign policy
Former President George W. Bush swiped indirectly at Donald Trump's "America first" foreign policy philosophy at a fundraising event Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Without specifically naming the Republican nominee, Bush criticized recent trends toward "isolationism, nativism and protectionism" in a discussion with approximately 400 guests. Bush made the disapproving comments at a private fundraiser in Cincinnati for Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, which raised $1 million in one day, according to a Portman spokesperson.
At the fundraiser, the former president also reportedly said Islamic women should be welcomed in the U.S. to experience the benefits of a free society -- according to the Wall Street Journal, "so they can lead the charge for equality in the Middle East."
Mr. Bush's remarks came as Trump's foreign policy proposals -- which include dismantling NATO, tearing up international trade deals, and banning immigrants from "any nation that has been compromised by terrorism" -- have come under heavy fire from several Republican party leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
One attendee, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, told the Journal, "No one could say [Bush] directly spoke in attack mode against Donald Trump. Neither could anybody miss the fact that he thought there were some cutting-edge issues that Trump is advancing that need to be scrutinized and debated." And Ohio Rep. Brad Westrup said that when the former president was asked what the future of the Republican party would look like, he said, "As long as everyone feels welcome, I think we'll succeed."
Over the course of the presidential campaign, Trump has criticized George Bush repeatedly on national security and foreign policy. He has called the Iraq war "a disaster" and said the Bush administration "should have never been in Iraq."
"They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none, and they knew there were none," he said during the CBS News debate in February. And during the same debate, Trump also told Jeb Bush, "The World Trade Center came down during your brother's reign, remember that."
The Bush family has declined to weigh in on the 2016 political landscape since Jeb Bush dropped out of the race, even skipping the GOP convention earlier this month. George Bush also skipped the 2012 Republican convention.