Roger Stone, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, responded to the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush by calling her a "nasty drunk" in an Instagram post.
"Barbara Bush was a nasty drunk. When it came to drinking she made Betty Ford look like Carrie Nation #blottoBabs," Stone wrote, hours after the former first lady's death. "Barbara Bush drank so much booze, if they cremated her … her body would burn for three days."
When asked about his divisive statements by TheWrap, Stone doubled down.
"She said far worse things about me," Stone told TheWrap. "Barbara Bush was a vindictive, entitled, mean-spirited woman. May she rest in peace."'
Stone has never been shy about his disdain for the Bush family. He penned Jeb! and the Bush Crime Family: The Inside Story of an American Dynasty, published in 2016.
A longtime Trump ally, Stone once worked as a lobbyist for the business mogul's casinos and, as early as 1988, urged him to run for political office. When Trump decided to run for president in 2016, he gave Stone a job as an adviser.
The two officially parted ways in 2015: Trump said he fired Stone, while Stone said he resigned. The White House has repeatedly tried to distance itself from the author in the intervening months, with Trump tweeting that he no longer spoke to Stone.
The Roger Stone report on @CNN is false - Fake News. Have not spoken to Roger in a long time - had nothing to do with my decision.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017
Stone's influence on Trump, however, was once rumored to be so notable that the conservative magazine National Review predicted his absence would jeopardize the campaign. He is also one several former Trump allies facing FBI scrutiny over alleged coordination with Russia during the 2016 campaign.
"It's hard to overstate just how close Trump and Stone have been over the years," the National Review wrote after Stone had left the campaign. "Trump without Stone is akin to George W. Bush without Karl Rove or Barack Obama without David Axelrod."
Following Bush's death, there was an outpouring of support for the former first family on social media. Many chose to remember the 92-year-old, who championed literacy during her tenure as First Lady, as a firebrand with a quick wit and caring disposition. Trump released a statement praising the former first lady after her death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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