Tag: Barbara Bush

I’m the Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY. I’ve covered 10 presidential campaigns, interviewed nine presidents, and reported from six continents. Now I’ve written my first book, titled THE MATRIARCH: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty, published April 2 by Twelve Books. Barbara Bush was somebody who millions of Americans thought they knew well, and loved. But in fact she was more complicated that her public persona, and she was more influential that almost anybody acknowledged. And her lifetime spanned an era of dramatically changing opportunities and expectations for women. All that is why I wanted to tell her story. I spent a fair amount of time with her during the final six months of her life, and she eventually gave me rare access to her private diaries. They were amazing. USA TODAY has run the first excerpt from THE MATRIARCH, from the chapter about her (strong) views about President Trump.

Mascotte was the family dog of Gov. Bob Martinez and his wife, Mary Jane Marino. George and Barbara Bush seem at first glance very different from Bob and Mary Jane Martinez. Bob Martinez and Mary Jane Marino grew up in West Tampa and Ybor City, grandchildren of Spanish and Sicilian immigrants. In Tampa, Bob Martinez was elected mayor in a non-partisan election. Vice President Bush was also there. Mary Jane Martinez became close friends with Barbara Bush when the latter visited Tallahassee in 1988. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush paid a visit to Tallahassee to see Florida’s First Family. Fortunately, the president loved dogs.

Chris shares a story involving President HW Bush, First Lady Barbara Bush, and Chris's parents at the White House.

A photo taken at the funeral showed George W. Bush with one arm around his wife Laura, and his other arm around Hillary Clinton. Michelle Obama stood next to Melania Trump, with a beaming Barack Obama next to his wife. [T]he funeral was a welcome respite from the current alley cat brawl.” Brokaw’s words about Mrs. Bush are welcome and empathetic. Donald Trump has championed a particularly toxic brand of bullying masquerading as politics, and most Republicans — especially those in elected office — have signed on for the ride. A 2017 Trump campaign ad used precisely that word to describe Democrats and others who don’t agree with the president. When Democrats didn’t stand and applaud Trump during his State of the Union address earlier this year, Trump denounced them as “un-American” and even “treasonous.” This is not part of the ordinary business of American politics. As Greg Sargent notes, “Republicans embroiled in tough primaries are increasingly emulating President Trump” — including by calling for “imprisoning [Trump’s] political opponents.” For example, Don Blankenship, a Republican senate hopeful in West Virginia and former CEO of Massey Energy, has a campaign ad declaring that “We don’t need to investigate our president. What if he stood with Obama, Colin Powell, Madeline Albright, and other prominent Republicans and Democrats to reject Trump’s bullying, authoritarian tactics? Americans may well be hungry for bipartisanship. Seeing Bush, Obama, and others jointly denounce the idea of calling for the jailing of political opponents could be a great way to respond.

AirTalk’s weekly politics roundtable wraps up the big headlines you missed this weekend and looks ahead to the week in D.C. and California. Washington Post reports Sessions warned WH not to fire Rosenstein DNC lawsuit against Russia, Trump campaign, WikiLeaks (this might be more current) Rudy Giuliani joining Trump’s legal team Cohen and Trump’s relationship moving forward North Korea latest (Kim says they no longer need missile tests, Trump says he hasn’t made too many concessions) Supreme Court to hear travel ban case Wednesday Emmanuel Macron & Angela Merkel visit D.C. this week Barbara Bush’s funeral (and possibly working in a mention of that Fresno State professor who tweeted some incendiary comments about the former First Lady) Guests: Lisa Garcia Bedolla, professor in the Graduate School of Education and director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley; she tweets @GarciaBedolla Jeremy Carl, research fellow at the Hoover Institution; served in an advisory capacity Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign; he tweets @JeremyCarl4

The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman clearly hit a nerve. The president made his feelings clear on Saturday when he went on one of his signature unhinged early morning Twitter rants just as his wife, Melania Trump, was getting ready to join four former presidents to pay their respects to Barbara Bush at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. His rant came shortly after the publication of a story that details President Donald Trump’s relationship with his longtime lawyer Michel Cohen. Trump says Haberman and the Times “are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will ‘flip.’” The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will “flip.” They use.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018 The Times and Haberman “use non-existent ‘sources’ and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael” to discredit a person he has “always liked & respected,” the president wrote. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018 ....it means lying or making up stories. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018 A few minutes after posting his rant, Haberman noted that the president had spelled her name wrong. One B, sir (or Dan?). https://t.co/M34kkP0sQb https://t.co/V73uBzg7wJ — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 21, 2018 Trump (or his digital aide) deleted and reposted this morning’s rant to spell Maggie Haberman’s last name correctly after she noted it’s not “Habberman.” pic.twitter.com/ntjGvnXmd6 — Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 21, 2018 Although Trump doesn’t say who he thinks is a “drunk/drugged up loser” he seems to be referring to former campaign aide Sam Nunberg. At one point CNN’s Erin Burnett told him flat out he smelled of alcohol during an interview. Trump just tweeted, “I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with” Maggie Haberman.

Today in 5 Lines President Trump confirmed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo met secretly with North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un earlier this month, and said “a good relationship was formed.” White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said his office will investigate Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s spending of $43,000 on a phone booth for his office. Three men from rural Kansas were found guilty in a plot to bomb a mosque and apartment complex housing Somali refugees. The Senate advanced the nomination of Representative Jim Bridenstine to be the new NASA administrator, after Arizona Senator Jeff Flake switched his vote to support the nomination. A federal judge ordered that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach be held in contempt of court for ignoring her orders in a proof-of-citizenship voter registration case. Today on The Atlantic Why the Statue Had to Come Down: J. Marion Sims was known as the “father of gynecology.” But his medical advances were made through experimentation on enslaved women. (Adam Serwer) Why Aren’t Disadvantaged Students Going to Elite Colleges? (Adam Harris) Snark and Sick Burns: In the past two years, one thing in American politics has become particularly clear: Donald Trump has made everyone a little more like him. (Jane Coaston, Vox) Stop Crying: Instead of prematurely accepting defeat in November, Republicans should start leading, writes Deroy Murdock. (National Review) Remembering Barbara Bush: The former first lady died on Tuesday at age 92. After the 2016 election and various financial problems, his world came crashing down.

We look back at the life of former first lady Barbara Bush. Barbara Bush: What’s the matter with Americans? President George W. Bush: Yes. There was a lot of psychobabble about my relationship with my parents during the presidency, and it’s natural, because people haven’t had a chance to ask many presidents, what it’s like to be president with your father being a former president and mother a former first lady? President George W. Bush: I did, yes. I look out in the pews, and there is the president’s parents, you know, President George Bush, Barbara Bush. Judy Woodruff: And you have told us that you went on to have a great friendship with them. Bonnie Steinroeder: It was a huge part of her life and of President Bush’s life as well. You could see it in the motivation that they felt to help other people, to be good people, to be kind, to be generous. And I do think that’s probably what helped her at the end of her life to have that sense of peace, because we had talked a long, long time ago about her beliefs that she knew she would be reunited with the people she loved who had gone before her.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum led tributes to former first lady Barbara Bush Sunday after a spokesman announced the 92-year-old was in "failing health." The official @GOP Twitter account tweeted: "Our entire RNC family offers prayers of comfort and peace for Barbara Bush and the entire Bush family." White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, "The President's and First Lady's prayers are with all of the Bush Family during this time." Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley tweeted Sunday that Bush is "a woman of great faith, great strength, and an unwavering love of country. "Our country is better because of former First Lady Barbara Bush," Haley added. Former Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, now the permanent U.S. representative to NATO, described Bush as "one of America's most-loved women." "Barbara Bush has a character that is as big, inspiring and iconic as Texas," the state's governor, Greg Abbott, said in a statement. Rep. Sean Maloney, D-N.Y., paid tribute to Bush as "a graceful First Lady who has dedicated her life to improving education and promoting literacy", while Maryland Gov. Ohio Gov. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he was "praying" for Bush and her family and called her "a special woman, whose great faith and love for her country inspires us all."