Former President George W. Bush took President Donald Trump's administration to task on Monday.
The 43rd president called for a "welcoming" immigration policy and underscored the importance of a free press during an interview with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show.
"I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy," Bush told Lauer. "We need an independent media to hold people like me to account. Power can be very addictive, and it can be corrosive."
Bush recalled spending time during his presidency attempting to convince other world leaders, specifically Russian President Vladimir Putin, to "accept the notion of a free press."
"It's kind of hard to tell others to have an independent free press if we're not willing to have one ourselves," Bush said.
The former president's comments contrast deeply with Trump's attacks on the media. Trump has taken an aggressive stance against the press since taking office, labeling the fourth estate "the opposition party" in January and "the enemy of the American people" earlier this month.
Bush also called the right to worship freely a "bedrock of our freedom" and took a dig at Trump's January executive order on immigration, which sought to indefinitely ban Syrian refugees and temporarily block visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries.
"I understood right off the bat ... that [the executive order] was an ideological conflict," Bush told Lauer. "I am for an immigration policy that is welcoming and upholds the law."