Former President George H.W. Bush has openly criticized President Donald Trump, calling him a "blowhard" in a new book, CNN reported.
In "The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush," H.W. Bush told the author Mark Updegrove in 2016 that he doesn't like Trump.
"I don't know much about him, but I know he's a blowhard. And I'm not too excited about him being a leader," he said, according to CNN's report.
NBC News has not independently confirmed the story.
Former President George W. Bush also spoke ill of the current president, saying: "This guy doesn't know what it means to be president," CNN reported.
The White House promptly responded to CNN's report.
"The American people voted to elect an outsider who is capable of implementing real, positive, and needed change - instead of a lifelong politician beholden to special interests." White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told NBC News. "If they were interested in continuing decades of costly mistakes, another establishment politician more concerned with putting politics over people would have won."
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After landing in Japan for his 11-day Asia trip, Trump refused to comment on the report, saying: "I’ll comment after we come back. I don’t need headlines. I don’t want to make their move successful."
In a speech on Oct. 19, W. Bush took aim at bullying from public figures while Trump was embroiled in a feud with a Democratic congresswoman over whether he made an insensitive remark to the grieving wife of a fallen soldier. A representative said his comments weren't meant to criticize Trump.
"The Last Republicans" is set to be released on Nov. 14.
