Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump enthusiastically supported the impeachment of former President George W. Bush in 2008 because Trump disagreed with Bush on the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Trump expressed surprise that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, did not attempt to impeach Bush over the foreign policy decision made after Congress authorized the use of force in Iraq with a joint resolution.
“I was surprised that she didn’t do more in terms of Bush and going after Bush,” Trump told Wolf Blitzer in a CNN interview.
“It just seemed like she was going to really look to impeach Bush and get him out of office, which, personally, I think would have been a wonderful thing,” the 2016 Republican presidential candidate explained.
In the Oct. 15, 2008 CNN interview, Trump declared that Pelosi “absolutely” should have impeached Bush “for the war” and flatly accused Bush of knowingly manipulating popular opinion and lying about national security information.
“He lied,” the 69-year-old real estate tycoon charged. “He got us into the war with lies.”
“Bush got us into this horrible war with lies, by lying, by saying they had weapons of mass destruction, by saying all sorts of things that turned out not to be true,” Trump also insisted.
In the same interview, the Republican presidential candidate gushed about his respect and admiration for Pelosi.
“Well, you know, when she first got in and was named speaker, I met her. And I’m very impressed by her. I think she’s a very impressive person. I like her a lot,” Trump said of the liberal San Francisco Democrat.
Trump also heaped praise on Saddam Hussein in the interview because “he killed terrorists.”
In September 2007, the billionaire real estate developer appeared on CNN to blast George W. Bush as “a horrible president” and “possibly the worst in the history of this country.”
That same evening, Trump excoriated then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as “very sad.” Trump also called Hugo Chavez, then president of Venezuela,” a lot smarter than” Bush. “Chavez is obviously very cunning,” Trump explained in 2007. “I mean, beating our president at every step of the game.” (RELATED: Venezuelan Government Forces Companies To Hand Over Food As Shortages Intensify)
Trump described Rice and other Bush cabinet secretaries as “amateurs.”
“People are talking about China,” Trump told Blitzer. “They’re talking about India, they’re not talking about the United States anymore.” (RELATED: China’s Huge Stock Market Crash)
On Nov. 6, 2008, Trump praised President Barack Obama as “inspiring in every way” and declared that the then-newly-elected Democrat “cannot do worse than Bush.” (RELATED: George W. Bush Outpolls Obama In CNN Poll)
Trump has called himself a member of the GOP since 2009. At the same time, he has changed his party affiliation also at least four times in the last 16 years — an average of once for each presidential election. (RELATED: From Immigration To Abortion, Longtime Democrat Donald Trump Must Reckon With His Rich Progressive History)
Earlier this month, Trump clarified his desire to run for president as a GOP candidate. He noted that he had been “part of the establishment” until an abrupt departure in June 2015. (RELATED: From High Taxes To National Health Care, Donald Trump Must Reckon With His Progressive Past)
The billionaire industrialist insists that he has broad national support and can win a general election.
Trump has never won any election of any kind.
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