The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Jeb Bush has simple advice for President Trump: Stop tweeting

May 19, 2017 at 1:50 p.m. EDT
Jeb Bush speaks at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., on May 1. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

LAS VEGAS — Former Florida governor Jeb Bush has some simple advice for his former rival, President Trump: Stop tweeting.

Bush appeared Friday alongside Valerie Jarrett, a longtime White House staffer during President Barack Obama's administration, at a three-day hedge fund conference held at Las Vegas’s Bellagio Hotel. The event, the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference, known as SALT, was started by longtime Republican fundraiser Anthony Scaramucci. Scaramucci briefly threw his support behind Bush during the 2016 presidential election before ultimately backing Trump

Asked whether he supported the appointment of a special counsel to investigate possible collusion between associates of President Trump and Russian officials, Bush said: “Yes, I think we need a special counsel and I don't [think] the president should tweet.” The crowd of Wall Street insiders laughed and applauded.

“There is a reason why he tweets, which is to go around the press and directly communicate with millions of people and he is effective in doing that. I don't want to diminish that because that is an important tool that presidents now have.”

But, Trump’s tweets make it more difficult for the White House to stay on message, Bush said.

“When he tweets he also gives our enemies all sorts of nuances and insights. These things matter. We are living in a dangerous world. He is the leader of the free world,” he said. “There are lots of reasons that you don't want to send out signals to our adversaries.”

“His tweets countermand the efforts of a lot of people that are trying to keep up with him.”

Bush argued that the appointment of a special counsel creates “a huge opportunity” for Trump to focus on the agenda he was elected to do.

Bush recently bid to purchase the Miami Marlins, a Major League Baseball team, with Derek Jeter, a former professional baseball player. The sale has yet to be approved.