Former U.S. president George W. Bush said Monday that a free press was 'indispensable to democracy' during his two White House terms – hinting that he disagrees with President Donald Trump's assessment of some reporters as 'the enemy of the people.'

'We need an independent media to hold people like me to account,' Bush said on the 'Today' show.

'I think power can be very addictive, and it can be corrosive, and it's important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere.'

'I think power can be very addictive, and it can be corrosive, and it's important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power,' former President George W. Bush said Monday

President Donald Trump bashed the 'fake' news media on Friday for what he said was irresponsible reporting on his administration

Ten days ago Trump complained on Twitter that 'The FAKE NEWS media ... is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!'

He cited the 'failing' New York Times, NBC News, ABC, CBS and CNN as examples.

On Friday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, the president doubled down: 'A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are – they are the enemy of the people.'

He pointed out that he wasn't criticizing the entire political press corps, but only news outlets that he believes are peddling false stories based on weak sources.

But Bush warning on Monday that marginalizing the press could have ripple effects internationally.

'One of the things I spent a lot of time doing was trying to convince a person like Vladimir Putin, for example, to accept the notion of an independent press,' he recalled.

'And it's kinda hard to, you know, tell others to have an independent, free press when we're not willing to have one ourself.'

Trump famously wrote this month on Twitter that a handful of news outlets are 'the enemy of the American people'

The 'split-up' nature of the news media is partly to blame for America's nationwide political schisms, Bush said

Asked if Trump has shown signs of being genuinely interested in uniting a country that remains deeply divided after his election, Bush said 'you have to take a man for his word that he wants to unify the country and we'll see whether he's able to do so.'

But the balkanization of the news media itself, he said, is partly to blame for America's nationwide political schisms.

'It's hard to unify the country, though, with the news media being so split up,' Bush said.

'When I was president, you know, you mattered a lot more because there was, like, three of you. And now there's all kinds of information being bombarded out, people can say things anonymously, and it's just a different world.'