George W. Bush Says GOP Committing Suicide by Donald Trump



Brandon is a political writer for the Hill Reporter specializing…
Former President George W. Bush said in an interview with The Intercept on Thursday that the GOP’s embrace of the “Anglo-Saxon ideals” and demonstrably false ideas promoted by Donald Trump constitutes a death knell for the party.

No doubt a controversial figure in American politics, Bush has nevertheless remained an influential voice among the GOPs more traditional inner circles.
A transcript of the conversation is below.
Reporter Sarah Isgur:
There have been elements within the Republican Party, now that have been in favor of, well, as they phrase it, ‘Anglo-Saxon traditions’ being put into law. I’m curious whether there is a version of the Republican Party if they followed that strain in three years or five years, where you would say, ‘I’m not a Republican?’
Bush:
No I’d say there’s not going to be a party. I mean I read about that and I’m saying to myself, ‘Wow, these people need to read my book.’ And I mean, it’s like saying when I was running for Governor of Texas, you’ll never get any Latino votes because you’re Republican. And I said you watch. And I worked hard. And the key thing was to let them know that I could hear their voice. I mean, democracy is great in that sense. And the idea of kind of saying you can only be Republican ‘if,’ then the ultimate extension of that is it ends up being a one-person party.
Correspondent Steve Hayes then asked Bush to remark on what has become the governing credo within the GOP – that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
Hayes:
But there are more of those people today than there were in the Republican Party during your tenure.
Bush:
I hope not.
Hayes:
Either that, or they’re louder. Right? Many members of Congress, I mean, they were talking about starting a caucus.
Bush equated that to political suicide:
Yeah, well. You know, to me that basically says that we want to be extinct.
Hayes:
We’ve seen other elements of that. Some of the same people were talking about starting the Anglo-Saxon caucus are the people who were hyping up the idea that the election was stolen from Joe Biden. More than 50% of Republicans across the country think the election was stolen. Do you?
Bush:
No. I guess I’m one of the other 50%.
Hayes:
What—
Bush:
By the way, I’m still a Republican, proudly to be Republican. I think Republicans will have a second chance to govern, because I believe that the Biden administration is a uniting factor, and particularly on the fiscal side of things. So, you know, we’ll see. But I know this—that if the Republican Party stands for exclusivity, you know, used to be country clubs, now evidently it’s white Anglo-Saxon Protestantism, then it’s not going to win anything.
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Brandon is a political writer for the Hill Reporter specializing in current events, breaking news, and scientific discovery. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University. He lives in New York City.