Trump Says He Was "Never A Bush Fan" — To No One's Surprise That's Not True

A history of Trump's love for the Bush family.

On Morning Joe last week, Trump said he was "never a Bush fan I will tell you."

"I identify with some things as a Democrat but generally speaking — if you look at what happened, I was never a Bush fan I will tell you. In fact—I just say about this one of the last things we need is another Bush. When the economy crashed so horribly under George Bush because of mistakes they made having to do with banking and lots of other things. I don't think the Democrats would have done that."

Trump repeated it in Iowa over the weekend.

Trump in Oskaloosa, IA: "I was never a Bush fan, and the last thing we need is another Bush."

That statement, however, is demonstrably false. In fact, one could call The Donald a Bush family SUPERFAN.

Here is a timeline of Donald Trump expressing his love for members of the Bush family:

Here's The Donald at the 1988 Republican convention talking about his support for George H.W. Bush: "I'm here because I'm a guest of vice president Bush"

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In another interview at the convention, Trump said of H.W. Bush, "he’s an excellent guy, an excellent man. He’s a friend of mine."

"I think you're going to have, probably, George Bush as your next president. He's an excellent guy, an excellent man. He's a friend of mine, and I'm here for that reason."

In his book, The America We Deserve, Trump wrote he thought George H.W. Bush was a good president:

We can learn something here from George Bush and see how good a president he was. He wasn't afraid to use American power when he figured out that Saddam Hussein posed a direct threat to American interests in the East. I only wish, however, that he had spent three more days and properly finished the job. It is this kind of will and determination to use our strength strategically that America needs again in dealing with the North Koreans.

Trump also -- as noted in this post's picture at the top -- held a fundraiser for George H.W. Bush in 1988.

In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, Trump wrote that Jeb Bush was "exactly the kind of political leader this country needs now and will very much need in the future."

"Florida Governor Jeb Bush is a good man. I've held fundraisers for him. He's exactly the kind of political leader this country needs now and will very much need in the future."

He also called him "bright," "tough," and "principled," suggesting that "he may be" "another president from the Bushes."

"His first shot at Florida's governorship didn't work out, but he didn't give up. He was campaigning the day after his loss. He won the next race in a landslide. He's bright, tough, and principled. I like the Bush family very much. I believe we could get another president from the Bushes. He may be the one."

And, though Trump has since condemned Jeb's stance on Common Core, he lauded Jeb's education policies as Governor of Florida.

In April 1999, Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature passed an education reform bill, including a provision that makes "opportunity scholarships" in the amount of $ 4,000 available to kids whose public schools rate a failing grade in terms of achievement-test scores. Good policy. Even smarter politics. By giving choice to kids trapped in Florida's failing public schools, Jeb Bush is forcing public-education apologists to admit they hate vouchers so much they'd keep kids locked into even the worst public schools before they'd give them a choice and a chance."

Plus, he donated $500 to Jeb's 2002 gubernatorial re-election campaign.

Bush also said Trump did a fundraiser for him.

"He did a fundraiser for me," Bush said to The Daily Caller. "It might have been my re-election. I'm pretty sure it was my re-election, 2002. And in the past he said good things about my tenure as governor. But I've met him twice in my life."

In a 2004 interview with Wolf Blitzer, Trump said he liked both President George W. Bush and opponent John Kerry "very much":

"Well, I know both people that are running for president, as an example. And I think they're both very good. I mean, I know the president, I know John. I think it's going to be a very, very tough race."

In the same interview, though he acknowledged that "this is not a very popular country right now," he was careful to say that he liked Bush "very much":

BLITZER: You travel all over the world, meet with world leaders. Do you believe what John Kerry said is true, that world leaders tell him they want Bush out and him in?

TRUMP: Well, I will say this. And again, I like the president very much, but I think that this -- this is not a very popular country right now.

That July, Trump blasted Bush for the war in Iraq, calling it a "mess," but, after the president was re-elected, Trump called the outcome "terrific" and praised Bush for his "great campaign" and "fantastic" tax policy:

KING: What's your -- what's your read on the outcome of the election?

TRUMP: Well, I think it's terrific. Look, you know, you had two good guys running. You have very -- you know, actually, you have to give President Bush a lot of credit. He really ran a great campaign. He won by four million votes, which is a lot.

Now the electoral college, which I think they should do away with, is, you know, a little bit closer. But the fact is he won by four million votes, and that's a pretty good mandate in an election that was supposed to be so much closer than that.

KING: But you always admired Senator Kerry, didn't you? You...

TRUMP: I do. I like him. I like both of them, Larry. I like both of them very much. And they're both very different, but they were very talented and very everything.

The fact is that President Bush won. He ran a great campaign. I think his tax policy is fantastic. It's going to get the nation going. I really believe that it's going to kick in.

Maybe it's starting to right now. All of a sudden, the job reports are coming out great and a lot of other things.

So I really believe in his economic policies toward this country, and, ultimately, we'll get out of Iraq, I hope, and...

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