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Trump 2008: Bush Is Evil, Talk to Iran, Obama Cannot Do Worse Than Bush
National Review ^ | 07/10/2015 | Jim Geraghty

Posted on 07/10/2015 5:14:53 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

From the last Morning Jolt of the week: Trump 2008: Bush Is Evil, Talk to Iran, Obama Cannot Do Worse Than Bush

You may have gathered that I remain a skeptic about Donald Trump. Trump fans look at us skeptics with incredulity that we could possibly object to their man, and his ability to “change the debate,” and force the media to discuss topics like sanctuary cities.

Those of us not so enamored with Trump look at how that quality suddenly outranks all other qualities in a potential Republican presidential candidate – including consistent conservatism.

Permit me to remind you about Donald Trump’s assessment of President Bush back in 2008: Bush has been so bad, maybe the worst president in the history of this country. He has been so incompetent, so bad, so evil, that I don’t think any Republican could have won. Evil? Evil? Of course, in the same interview, Trump endorsed… diplomatic outreach with Iran. You know, you can be enemies with people, whether it’s Iran, Iraq, anyplace else and you can still have dialogue. These people won’t even talk to him. It’s terrible.

Wait, there’s more! Check out his assessment of Obama!

VAN SUSTEREN: The new president-elect, what are your thoughts? Pretty exciting, it’s always exciting when we have a change of power, a transition, but what are your thoughts.

TRUMP: It’s very exciting we have a new president. It would have been nice if he ended with a 500 point up instead of down. It’s certainly very exciting. His speech was great last night. I thought it was inspiring in every way. And, hopefully he’s going to do a great job. But the way I look at it, he cannot do worse than Bush.

VAN SUSTEREN: We know how you feel about this.

TRUMP: It’s not me, it’s everybody. It’s been a total catastrophe. That’s what happened to Republicans. They got run are out of office because we have president that’s been so bad. And he’s been a catastrophe, there’s no question about it. He got us into a war we didn’t need. You look at the money, we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a war, and then people wonder why the economy isn’t doing well. OPEC is ripping us off left and right, the oil countries are just ripping us off left and right. So you have wars, you have OPEC, all of this stuff. He didn’t do anything about it. He sends Condoleezza Rice. She gets off a plane and waves to everybody and then leaves. It’s ridiculous.

VAN SUSTEREN: Governor Palin–do you think we’ll see her back in 2012? What are your thoughts on that?

TRUMP: I don’t know. There’s a real question–she certainly made things interesting, but the question is, did she help? I met her a couple of times. She’s really nice. I just don’t know. I just have no answer for it. And then here’s his thoughts on health care back in 1999…

TRUMP: I think you have to have it, and, again, I said I’m conservative, generally speaking, I’m conservative, and even very conservative. But I’m quite liberal and getting much more liberal on health care and other things. I really say: What’s the purpose of a country if you’re not going to have defensive and health care? If you can’t take care of your sick in the country, forget it, it’s all over. I mean, it’s no good. So I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better.

KING: So you believe, then, it’s an entitlement of birth?

TRUMP: I think it is. It’s an entitlement to this country, and too bad the world can’t be, you know, in this country. But the fact is, it’s an entitlement to this country if we’re going to have a great country. And then, as you probably saw, Trump’s post-2012 comments on illegal immigration: “Republicans didn’t have anything going for them with respect to Latinos and with respect to Asians,” the billionaire developer says. “The Democrats didn’t have a policy for dealing with illegal immigrants, but what they did have going for them is they weren’t mean-spirited about it,” Trump says. “They didn’t know what the policy was, but what they were is they were kind.” Romney’s solution of “self deportation” for illegal aliens made no sense and suggested that Republicans do not care about Hispanics in general, Trump says. “He had a crazy policy of self deportation which was maniacal,” Trump says. “It sounded as bad as it was, and he lost all of the Latino vote,”

Trump notes. “He lost the Asian vote. He lost everybody who is inspired to come into this country.” The GOP has to develop a comprehensive policy “to take care of this incredible problem that we have with respect to immigration, with respect to people wanting to be wonderful productive citizens of this country,”

Trump says. Yet I see people comparing Trump to Reagan.

Donald Trump has been a conservative for about ten minutes.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; donaldtrump
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1 posted on 07/10/2015 5:14:53 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Trump has a solid history of conservatism going back many weeks.


2 posted on 07/10/2015 5:16:25 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Sad fact, most people just want a candidate to tell them what they want to hear)
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To: SeekAndFind

I like what Trump is saying, but I don’t trust him any farther than I can throw him....and I have a bad arm.


3 posted on 07/10/2015 5:16:39 AM PDT by MuttTheHoople (Ob)
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To: SeekAndFind

Boy was Trump ever wrong about Obama in 2008. Our enemies couldn’t have done a better job at destroying the nation using their military or nukes! for that matter.


4 posted on 07/10/2015 5:19:37 AM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: SeekAndFind

Counting down to the arrival of the swarm of head in the sand Trump apologists in 3....2....1...


5 posted on 07/10/2015 5:20:35 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines (Obama loves America the way OJ loved Nicole)
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To: cripplecreek
Trump has a solid history of conservatism going back many weeks.

....nicely played sir....that's gonna leave a mark.....

6 posted on 07/10/2015 5:20:37 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

Did you see the interview yesterday, not ruling out a third party run? Cue: President Clinton (or hell, maybe President Sanders!!!)


7 posted on 07/10/2015 5:21:46 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
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To: SeekAndFind

I think it probably would be wise to ask Trump what his position is on these things today, as, naturally, a lot has happened since 2008. I don’t see him there automatically bashing Palin. I do see him there wanting to appeal to both liberals and republicans at the same time, and that’s probably business.

He’s probably a loose canon on all sorts of issues, but I would be happy to vote for him if he keeps his position strong on Immigration, as well as on OPEC, Mexico and China. I’m not sure that our candidate, any candidate we choose, is going to be perfect. But if we have a candidate who will listen and obey the voters, that might make him worthwhile.


8 posted on 07/10/2015 5:22:27 AM PDT by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I don’t think any of us are fooled by Trump we just love seeing the enemedia taken to the woodshed. Too bad the GOP has not been able to figure that out.


9 posted on 07/10/2015 5:22:28 AM PDT by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: cripplecreek

So longer than Romney, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Casich combined.


10 posted on 07/10/2015 5:28:04 AM PDT by Solson (Grand Old Party 1854 - 2010 RIP)
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To: MuttTheHoople

> I like what Trump is saying, but I don’t trust him any farther than I can throw him....and I have a bad arm.

He is a good entertainer and he is saying a lot of what needs to be said right now but I remember promises he made before that he didn’t deliver on. I’d like to see Cruz start advancing in the ranks because he has ahiwn true courage in the past and has stood against the tyrant in the WH on several occassions. The only place I have any problems with Cruz was on his vote on the TPA and TPP issue which looks like he didn’t fully understand what the end implications were but then again they weren’t letting out all the text or details about them at first. None of the candidates are going to 100 % perfect.


11 posted on 07/10/2015 5:28:46 AM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: SeekAndFind
It’s an entitlement to this country, and too bad the world can’t be, you know, in this country.

He's good for a laugh though.

12 posted on 07/10/2015 5:30:10 AM PDT by bkepley
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To: SeekAndFind
It’s not me, it’s everybody. It’s been a total catastrophe. That’s what happened to Republicans. They got run are out of office because we have president that’s been so bad. And he’s been a catastrophe, there’s no question about it. He got us into a war we didn’t need. You look at the money, we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a war, and then people wonder why the economy isn’t doing well. OPEC is ripping us off left and right, the oil countries are just ripping us off left and right. So you have wars, you have OPEC, all of this stuff. He didn’t do anything about it. He sends Condoleezza Rice. She gets off a plane and waves to everybody and then leaves. It’s ridiculous.

What about the above Donald's comments is not true? Like it or not, we got Obama because years of the Iraq war with no workable end game, and the financial meltdown. Bush was in office. Who else should he have blamed? Why would Donald not hope Obama would do a good job?

13 posted on 07/10/2015 5:31:24 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (The media must be defeated any way it can be done.)
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To: SeekAndFind

No doubt in my mind, the amnesty branch if the Republican party is scared poop-less.
Trump ain’t gonna get the nomination, Jeb (the man with no last name) will be the nominee and lose to Hillary.
However, the GOPe and others are quaking in their boots over the fact that Trump has brought the illegal alien issue to the front and center and they just may have to make a definitive statement about their position.


14 posted on 07/10/2015 5:32:08 AM PDT by Tupelo (I feel more like Phillip Nolan every day.)
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To: Solson

Which would be a valid comment, if anyone here was pushing Jeb, Christie, or Kasich.

And actually, over his lifetime, he’s probably to the left of all of those guys.


15 posted on 07/10/2015 5:34:07 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
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To: wastoute

“I don’t think any of us are fooled by Trump ...”

The scolds are something like nuns having seen a muscular construction worker with his shirt off, aren’t they: disapproving but also a little `het up’?


16 posted on 07/10/2015 5:34:39 AM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives.)
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To: cripplecreek
Trump has a solid history of conservatism going back many weeks.

LOL. Donald is fearless and unapologetic in his direct assault upon the liberal PC worldview, which is a breath of fresh air in politics.

But he is not a conservative nor a potential POTUS.

My hope is that he helps the conservative(s) who can win by making them appear less "extreme" as well as showing all of the gOpE how to win by fighting rather than compromising.

17 posted on 07/10/2015 5:35:17 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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To: jsanders2001

The media would ignore Trump if they didn’t want him to win the nomination.


18 posted on 07/10/2015 5:35:40 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Sad fact, most people just want a candidate to tell them what they want to hear)
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To: MuttTheHoople

I think Trump only differs from the RINO brigade on illegal immigration and jobs but I’m so fed up with the GOP that if Republicans nominate Bush, I hope Trump runs as an independent.


19 posted on 07/10/2015 5:37:37 AM PDT by Nickname
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To: C. Edmund Wright
Here is the first line from Noonan's (yes, I know, consider the source) WSJ article this a.m. (writing about Trump) ....

Donald Trump is an unstable element inserted into an unsettled environment. Sooner or later there will be a boom.

20 posted on 07/10/2015 5:38:13 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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