HE NEVER NEEDED TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE UR:

Asked whether he supported Trump's travel ban on people from seven majority Muslim countries, Bush said, "I am for an immigration policy that is welcoming and that upholds the law."

Bush, whose presidency was shaped by the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on America, also called for religious tolerance.

"One of our great strengths is for people to be able to worship the way they want to or not worship at all," he said.

After the attacks, Bush had made a point of supporting Muslims and praising Islam's teachings as peaceful.

Trump has branded some news outlets as "the enemy of the people" but Bush said: "I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy, that we need an independent media to hold people like me to account," he said.

"It's important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power."

He said that during his presidency he tried to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept the concept of an independent news media. "It's kind of hard to tell others to have an independent, free press and we're not willing to have one ourselves," Bush told NBC.

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