Former President Donald Trump elaborates on his love, hate, hate, hate relationship with the Bush family in his new book of letters, which includes thank-you notes from a president, a first lady and a president-to-be, in addition to his own scathing commentary on where they went wrong.
In doing so, it charts the shift from a time when established Republicans would thank Trump for his donations, before power in the party passed to outsiders and upstarts.
‘Letters to Trump’, was published by Publish the winning team on Tuesday.
The $99 book contains letters from President Richard Nixon, actor Alec Baldwin and Oprah Winfrey, among other politicians and stars of stage and film.
And there are multiple contributions from the Bushes during their heyday as the greatest force in Republican politics.
The new letter book from former President Donald Trump was published on Tuesday. It contains warm words from President George HW Bush, along with caustic comments from Trump
Bush Sr. wrote to Trump several times thanking him for campaign contributions or for supporting his son Jeb’s candidacy for the Florida office a year later
“I helped George HW Bush with his campaign and did a really good job for him. Unfortunately, it was never appreciated, and that’s okay,” Trump wrote in his commentary on the country’s 41st president.
“I learned a lot when he made his famous statement, “Read my lips, no new taxes”… and then almost immediately raised taxes. That didn’t work out very well.’
Bush was forced to negotiate the 1990 budget settlement with the Democratic-controlled Congress, which involved tax increases. And it cost his re-election campaign dearly.
Trump also returned to a favored earlier line of attack in his new book, ridiculing Bush’s personal philosophy of volunteerism.
“Almost as bad was when he kept talking about ‘A Thousand Points of Light,’ and nobody really knew what he was talking about,” Trump says. “What did it all mean?”
His remarks are accompanied by a letter from Bush thanking Trump for supporting his 1988 presidential campaign.
“I know that with your help and dedication, I will become the next president of the United States,” Bush wrote. “Barbara and I will always remember what you did for us.”
Days before her husband was sworn in as president, the future first lady sent a handwritten note to Trump after catching him on TV.
Texas Governor and presidential candidate George W, Jeb, former President George HW, and Barbara Bush together in 1999 as Bush’s oldest son ran for president
Trump was a regular contributor to the Bush campaign in 1988
And future first lady Barbara Bush sent a handwritten message of support after a particularly controversial appearance on the Phil Donahue show
President George W. Bush at his Oval Office desk at the White House in 2006 after addressing the nation on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that dominated his tenure
“As I left the house this morning I heard that you were attacked by Phil Donahue,” she wrote. ‘You were fantastic.’
At the time, the Bushes were the first family of the Republican movement. The surname was a key to assuming a central role in Conservative politics.
Trump maintained contacts with such key players, and a 1997 thank you from George W. Bush for an invitation to Miss Teen USA, which was held in Texas.
“Unfortunately Laura and I are booked for the day and will not be able to attend,” he wrote.
Years later, Trump is relentless in his criticism of his presidency.
Thanks but no thanks, said George Bush in 1997 when Trump invited the then Texas governor to his Miss Teen USA pageant in South Padre, Texas
And a proud dad thanks Trump for helping Jeb Bush with his fundraising efforts some 20 years before he would destroy the younger Bush’s presidential hopes
Former Florida governor Bush was one of the frontrunners for the 2016 Republican nomination before Trump came along and toppled conservative politics
“Dubya,” as he called himself, has brought us into the quicksand of the Middle East,” Trump wrote.
“After twenty-one years, millions dead, trillions of dollars spent, and the Middle East completely wiped out, we’ve come out of it. It was a bad decision on his part and probably one forced by Dick Cheney, a disastrous Vice President.
Anyway, I wish them all the best. Good luck!’
And there’s even a thank you letter from a proud dad after Trump supported Jeb Bush as he ran for governor of Florida with a fundraiser at his New York home.
“We love Jeb very much,” Bush senior wrote. “We feel he is well motivated and will be a great governor for Florida.
“That you helped him so generously by hosting that fundraiser means a lot to both Barbara and me.”
Twenty years later, Trump had single-handedly ended their son’s political career with a devastating string of insults in the 2016 Republican nomination race.
“The Bush family weren’t very friendly when I met Jeb. But it was a competition,” Trump wrote in his new book.
“Jeb was expected by almost everyone to win the Republican primary, and after about two weeks it was over for him.”