New Delhi [India], Mar. 2 : Asserting that the nation needs a free and independent press, former American president George W. Bush said that the country need press corps to hold politicians to account, including him. "Here is what I believed when I was president, post-president: The nation needs a free and independent press.
And the reason why is, is that power can be very corrupting and we need a press corp to hold politicians to account, including me.
And ya, I didn't like it sometimes when people said things about me, but that's the job," Local U.S. media quoted Bush as saying on Ellen Degeneres' show. DeGeneres during the show said that President Trump is raging an outright - just a war - against all press and not allowing them to do their job, which is a very dangerous thing.
"Trump is raging an outright - just a war - against all press and not allowing press to do their job, which I think is a very dangerous thing," she said.
Responding to DeGeneres' question on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush said he had a contentious relationship with him.
Bush said whoever the president is, is going to find Putin will push and push until someone stands up to him The former U.S.
president was on the show to promote his new art book 'Portraits Of Courage: A Commander In Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors'.
Explaining that Putin was not impressed after meeting his dog Barney, a Scottish Terrier, Bush said the Russian President questioned him after looking at his dog saying , 'You think that's a dog?'.
When Bush and then-First Lady Laura Bush were in Russia years later, Putin asked if they wanted to see his dog.
Bush recalling the incident of meeting Putin's dog said, "Out comes a giant hound kind of loping across the yard and Putin looks at me and says, 'Bigger, stronger, and faster than Barney." Speaking on a photo of former U.S.
president Barack Obama's wife Michelle Obama hugging him during the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History And Culture in September last year that went viral at the time, Bush said, "That surprised everybody, that's what's so weird about society today, that people on opposite sides of the political spectrum could actually like each other.".
Source: ANI
