Fellow Republican John Boehner says Trump’s presidency, for the most part, has been ‘a complete disaster’
Former House Speaker John A. Boehner says that aside from international affairs and foreign policy, President Trump’s time in office so far has been a “complete disaster.”
Speaking at an energy conference Thursday in Houston, Boehner praised Trump for his approach abroad and his aggressiveness in fighting Islamic State militants, according to the energy publication Rigzone.
“Everything else he’s done [in office] has been a complete disaster,” the Ohio Republican said, according to the publication. “He’s still learning how to be president.”
Boehner said he’s been friends with Trump for 15 years, but still has a hard time envisioning him as president. He also said Trump shouldn’t be allowed to tweet overnight.
David Schnittger, a spokesman for Boehner, confirmed the comments on Friday.
According to Rigzone, Boehner said that the Republican tax reform effort “is just a bunch of happy talk” and that the proposed border adjustment tax — a major priority of Boehner’s successor as speaker, Paul D. Ryan — is “deader than a door nail.” That tax would subject importers, including retailers, to higher taxes and produce breaks for companies that export.
He said he was more optimistic about tax reform earlier in the year, but “now my odds are 60-40.”
Boehner said that until recently he was pessimistic about another congressional Republican priority — repealing and replacing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Boehner said that while Republicans would fix some problems of the healthcare law, repeal and replacement is “not going to happen.”
He added, “Republicans never ever agree on healthcare.”
The GOP-led House narrowly passed a healthcare bill this month. The Senate is working to produce legislation that all Republicans can back.
On the investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, Boehner said at the Texas forum that “they need to get to the bottom of this” but that Democratic talk of impeachment is the best way to rile up Trump supporters.
Boehner made it clear he’s happier now that he’s left Capitol Hill.
“I wake up every day, drink my morning coffee and say, `Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,’” he said, according to Rigzone.
And, unsurprisingly, Boehner said he doesn’t want to be president.
“I drink red wine. I smoke cigarettes. I golf. I cut my own grass. I iron my own clothes. And I’m not willing to give all that up to be president,” he said.
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