Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and GOP presidential candidate, said he does not believe his one-time foil President Trump obstructed justice by firing James Comey as FBI director.
But Bush, in comments first reported by the Boston Herald, poked fun at his own political demise after Trump tormented him in the campaign.
When Bush was asked yesterday during an appearance at Boston College’s 12th annual Carroll School of Management Finance Conference whether Trump obstructed justice, he replied, “No, I don’t, but who cares what I think?”
Bush, known for his serious-minded focus on policy issues, did not dismiss the consequences of the Trump administration’s Russia problem entirely, lamenting that Republicans have not made much progress on priorities such as health care and tax reform.
“It would be great to get back to the business of governing and less about the swirling controversies,” Bush said. “I just think the president needs to focus on doing his job.”
He also poked Trump on the president’s sincerity in fulfilling a campaign pledge “to drain the swamp.”
“ ‘Drain the swamp’ was a classic line, it resonated with me,” Bush said. “I didn’t vote for the guy, I’m not a big fan and everybody knows that, but I was hopeful that he would drain the swamp and the swamp-draining would include lobbying reform … which could be done by executive order if the president really wanted it.”
