Former President George W. Bush On Ted Cruz: ‘I Just Don’t Like The Guy’

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Looks like former President George W. Bush has finally arrived at the same conclusion so many of us reached years ago: Texas Senator Ted Cruz is a massive douchebag.

Speaking to an exclusive gathering of campaign donors in Denver on Sunday evening, Bush said of Cruz:

“I just don’t like the guy.”

Several donors who were at the fundraising event for Jeb Bush confirmed that the former President did indeed say this about Cruz, and one donor commented:

“I was like, ‘Holy shit, did he just say that? I remember looking around and seeing that other people were also looking around surprised.”

Another donor remarked:

“The tenor of what he said about the other candidates was really pretty pleasant. Until he got to Cruz.”

Bush also said he was less than impressed with the way Cruz has recently been “sucking up” to current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. One donor who was present in Denver said:

“He said he found it ‘opportunistic’ that Cruz was sucking up to Trump and just expecting all of his support to come to him in the end.”

The former President knows Cruz well. Cruz served as a domestic policy adviser on Dubya’s 2000 campaign. He then began to distance himself from Bush by being critical of Bush’s foreign policy and domestic agenda, even writing in a book that the Bush years brought:

“Bigger government and excessive spending and new entitlements.”

Does this mean Bush sees Cruz as the biggest rival to Jeb as both seek the nomination of their party? Not according to Freddy Ford, a spokesman for the former President:

“The first words out of President Bush’s mouth last night were that Jeb is going to earn the nomination, win the election, and be a great president. He does not view Sen. Cruz as Gov. Bush’s most serious rival.”

Cruz says there is no animosity between him and the Bush family:

“I have great respect for George W Bush, and was proud to work on his 2000 campaign and in his administration. It’s no surprise that President Bush is supporting his brother and attacking the candidates he believes pose a threat to his campaign. I have no intention of reciprocating. I met my wife Heidi working on his campaign, and so I will always be grateful to him.”

What I find most ironic about this to-and-fro between the camps is that George W. Bush saying nasty things about Ted Cruz is a bit like one buzzard telling another he stinks.

h/t Politico