WASHINGTON: Former President George H.W. Bush has reportedly lashed out at Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, two key figures in his son George W. Bush’s presidency in a forthcoming book.
Bush, president from 1989-1993, has mostly been silent on issues regarding his son’s presidency and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But in an upcoming biography, he has some choice words for the two men who played a pivotal role in George W.’s 2001-2009 White House.
Former vice president Cheney built “his own empire” and had too much of a “hard-line” over his son in convincing him to use military force around the world, Bush said, according to The New York Times on Thursday, citing the former president’s biographer Jon Meacham.
And former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld was an “arrogant fellow,” blind to the opinions of others, who “served the president badly,” Bush said.
Bush knows Cheney well, as the latter was his secretary of defense during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, the US-led military push that liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Army.
However as his son’s vice president, “he just became very hard-line and very different from the Dick Cheney I knew and worked with,” Bush said.
He speculated that Cheney was influenced by his deeply conservative wife Lynne, whom Bush described as “the eminence grise.”
The elder Bush however acknowledged that his son was responsible for empowering Cheney and Rumsfeld, and at times used language that was too bellicose.
“Hot rhetoric is pretty easy to get headlines, but it doesn’t necessarily solve the diplomatic problem,” Bush told Meacham, according to The Times.
Bush specifically cited George W.’s 2002 “Axis of Evil” speech linking US enemies Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
Bush Sr. lashes out at Cheney and Rumsfeld
Bush Sr. lashes out at Cheney and Rumsfeld
Trump accepts Nobel medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Machado
- Trump wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect“
- Machado said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people
WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump on Thursday during a White House meeting, in a bid to influence his efforts to shape her country’s political future.
A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal.
In a social media post on Thursday evening, Trump wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!“
Machado, who described the meeting as “excellent,” said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
The White House later posted a photo of Trump and Machado with the president holding up a large, gold-colored frame displaying the medal. Accompanying text read, “To President Donald J. Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength,” and labeled the gesture as a “Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People.”
Machado’s attempt to sway Trump came after he dismissed the idea of installing her as Venezuela’s leader to replace the deposed Nicolas Maduro.
Trump openly campaigned for the prize before Machado was awarded it last month and complained bitterly when he was snubbed.
Though Machado gave Trump the gold medal that honorees receive with the prize, the honor remains hers; the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
Asked on Wednesday if he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told Reuters: “No, I didn’t say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
The Republican president has long expressed interest in winning the prize and has at times linked it to diplomatic achievements.
The lunch meeting, which appeared to last slightly over an hour, marked the first time the two have met in person.
Machado then met with more than a dozen senators, both Republican and Democratic, on Capitol Hill, where she has generally found more enthusiastic allies.
During the visit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had looked forward to meeting Machado, but stood by his “realistic” assessment that she did not currently have the support needed to lead the country in the short term.
Machado, who fled the South American nation in a daring seaborne escape in December, is competing for Trump’s ear with members of Venezuela’s government and seeking to ensure she has a role in governing the nation going forward. After the United States captured Maduro in a snatch-and-grab operation this month, opposition figures, members of Venezuela’s diaspora and politicians throughout the US and Latin America expressed hope for Venezuela to begin a process of democratization.
HOPES OF A MOVE TO DEMOCRACY
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, one of the senators who met with Machado, said the opposition leader had told senators that repression in Venezuela was no different now than under Maduro.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez is a “smooth operator” who was growing more entrenched by the day thanks to Trump’s support, he said.
“I hope elections happen, but I’m skeptical,” said Murphy, of Connecticut.
Trump has said he is focused on securing US access to the country’s oil and economically rebuilding Venezuela. Trump has on several occasions praised Rodriguez, Maduro’s second-in-command, who became Venezuela’s leader upon his capture. In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Trump said, “She’s been very good to deal with.”
Machado was banned from running in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with Maduro allies.
Outside observers widely believe Edmundo Gonzalez, an opposition figure backed by Machado, won by a substantial margin, but Maduro claimed victory and retained power. While the current government has freed dozens of political prisoners in recent days, outside groups and advocates have said the scale of the releases has been exaggerated by Caracas. In an annual address to lawmakers, Rodriguez called for diplomacy with the United States and said should she need to travel to Washington, she would do so “walking on her feet, not dragged there.”
She also said she would propose reforms to her country’s oil industry aimed at increasing access for foreign investors.
