During a closed-door speech he made Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club, President Donald Trump blasted George W. Bush’s intelligence and wondered about becoming president for life.
In remarks obtained by CNN, Trump discussed plenty of subjects at a fundraiser, but he saved plenty of ire for Bush. Trump said Bush’s decision to invade Iraq was “the single worst decision ever made” and said it was like “throwing a big fat brick into a hornet’s nest.”
“That was Bush. Another real genius. That was Bush,” Trump said with sarcasm. “That turned out to be wonderful intelligence. You know? Great intelligence agency there.”
Trump has never been shy about bashing Bush for his decision to invade Iraq in 2003, even though there is audio evidence of Trump saying that he actually supported the invasion. Said Trump on Saturday: “Here we are, like the dummies of the world, because we had bad politicians running our country for a long time.”
Trump also turned his attention to China President Xi Jinping. Last month, the country’s ruling Communist party announced it would do away with presidential term limits, leading the way for Xi to stay in power indefinitely.
Responded Trump on Saturday: “He’s now president for life. President for life. No, he’s great. And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot some day.”
It’s unclear if Trump was just joking—CNN said the entire speech was “upbeat, lengthy, and peppered with jokes and laughter.” But Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) didn’t find it funny.
I have refrained from just being anti Trump. But whether this was a joke or not, talking about being President for life like Xi Jinping is the most unAmerican sentiment expressed by an American President. George Washington would roll over in his grave. https://t.co/y6ScZslUqe
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) March 4, 2018
Unsurprisingly, Trump also found a way to turn the conversation on Hillary Clinton. He wondered about her current state of mind.
“Is Hillary a happy person? Do you think she’s happy?” he said. “When she goes home at night, does she say, ‘What a great life?’ I don’t think so. You never know. I hope she’s happy.”
But is Trump happy? Recent reports would suggest not, saying Trump is “mad as hell” about his administration’s continued controversies.