Former House Speaker John Boehner says he watched the presidential election with amusement, calling it “the most bizarre political year” America has seen in a century.
During an interview with WCPO-TV, a Cincinnati-based ABC affiliate, Mr. Boehner said he had “no regrets” about resigning from Congress last year after 13 terms in office, saying he got out of politics just in time. He said he enjoyed being an observer of the election season instead of an active participant.
“Every day, I’d watch it and was like, ’Thank God I’m not in the middle of this,’ ” he said. “It was the most bizarre political year that we’ve seen in 100 years.”
The Ohio Republican said there’s a “political revolution” going on in the United States and elsewhere, The Associated Press reported.
“Anybody that thinks (the) last 12 months were as wild as we’ve seen, just saddle up and watch,” he said. “Because there’s no reason to think the next 12 months are going to be any less crazy.”
Mr. Boehner compared President-elect Donald Trump to 26th U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, whom he described as “another guy who saw himself larger than life.”
“If you look at what Teddy Roosevelt did, he came in to do big things,” he said. “I think Donald Trump wants to do big things.”
Mr. Boehner described Mr. Trump as a “good guy” who doesn’t firmly belong to either major political party. He is “kind of a Republican, and he’s kind of a Democrat,” who can work across the aisle while appealing directly to the American people, Mr. Boehner said.
“If I were Trump and I were going to try to do something big, I’d take my case right to the American people, let the American people put pressure on their representatives,” he said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.