George W. Bush, who faced his fair share of abuse at the hands of the media when he was in the White House, defended the fourth estate in an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC’s “Today” show Monday morning.

“ ‘I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. That we need the media to hold people like me to account. 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.’ ” — George W. Bush

These timely comments come as President Trump continues to slam the “fake news” media, like the “failing” New York Times NYT, -0.99% , as “the enemy of the people.”