Trump Probably Isn't Going to Like What George W. Bush Has to Say About His Administration

Former President George W. Bush sat down with the Today show's Matt Lauer on Feb. 27 to chat about President Donald Trump's first month in office. The former president had some interesting comments to offer on Trump's attack on the media, his alleged ties to Russia, and his polarizing immigration policy.

The interview began with Lauer addressing the current divided state of the country under Trump's administration. Bush expressed that it's going to be a group effort to help the POTUS unite our nation during his four years in office. "I think you have to take the man for his word that he wants to unify the country, and we'll see whether he's able to do so," he said. "It's hard to unify the country with the news media being so split up."

Speaking of the media, Lauer specifically asked Bush whether he ever saw the entity as an "enemy of the American people." The former president replied by saying, "I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. We need an independent media to hold people like me to account." He mentioned that power can be "very addictive" and "corrosive" and that an independent media is crucial for making sure officials are not abusing their power.

On whether he thinks it's necessary to hire a prosecutor to look into Trump's associates and their alleged ties to Russia, Bush said, "First of all, I think we all need answers." Although he noted that he's not qualified to suggest the proper route for investigating the issue, he said that if someone like Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr suggested such an investigation, Bush would be on board with the idea because it would have "more credibility."

Lauer then switched gears to discuss the topic of Trump's polarizing immigration policy. He read an excerpt from the former president's speech in which Bush showed support for practicing Muslims following the 9/11 attacks. Bush explained how free worship is a "bedrock of our freedom," saying, "I think it's very important for all of us to recognize one of our great strengths is for people to be able to worship the way they want to or to not worship at all." When directly asked whether he's for or against the Trump's anti-immigrant policy, Bush replied, "I am for an immigration policy that is welcoming and upholds the law."

Watch the entire interview above to see what else the former president had to say about Trump.