In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, former Speaker of the House John Boehner blasts birthers, Fox News host Sean Hannity, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Politico printed the excerpt from On the House: A Washington Memoir Friday morning. In it, Boehner condemns the “truly nutty business” promulgated by people who believed former President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States.
“[Radio personality] Mark Levin was the first to go on the radio and spout off this crazy nonsense,” Boehner writes. “It got him ratings, so eventually he dragged Hannity and Rush [Limbaugh] to Looneyville along with him.”
Boehner also calls out Hannity, with whom he says he used to have a good relationship, until the Fox host started “busting [his] ass every night.”
“At some point I called him a nut,” Boehner reveals. “Anyway, it’s safe to say our relationship never got any better.”
Boehner saves his harshest words for Cruz, writing, “There is nothing more dangerous than a reckless asshole who thinks he is smarter than everyone else. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Senator Ted Cruz.”
Cruz also inspired an ad-lib from Boehner’s audiobook version of the memoir. Journalist Jonathan Swan tweeted what appears to be an outtake from the audiobook, which features Boehner holding forth on freedom and then saying, apropos of nothing, “P.S. Ted Cruz, go fuck yourself.”
When @SpeakerBoehner was recording his audiobook I was told by sources that during these wine-soaked sessions he would deviate from the book’s text and insert random violent attacks on @tedcruz. Well, here’s some tape (listen to the end): pic.twitter.com/NFCQ2QFdTT
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) April 2, 2021
On the House is slated for publication by St. Martin’s on April 13.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
