As a figure who was both praised and criticized during his time as president, George W. Bush knows the importance of a free press.
"I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy," Bush told Today show host Matt Lauer in a Monday interview to promote his new book, Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors. "We need an independent media to hold power to account. Power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive and it's important for the media to call to account those who abuse their power."
He pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin: "It's kind of hard to tell others to have an independent free press when we don't have one ourselves."
Bush's comments come as President Trump continues to deride the media, from tweets to his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Other points the 43rd president addressed:
