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- Former House Speaker John Boehner didn't mince words about his ex-GOP colleagues in his new book, "On the House."
- Boehner calls Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas "dangerous" and a "reckless a–hole" in an excerpt of his forthcoming book.
- This isn't the first time Boehner, who served as House speaker from 2011-2015, has made his dislike for Cruz known.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Former House Speaker John Boehner didn't mince words when reflecting on his GOP congressional colleagues, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who he called "dangerous" and a "reckless a–hole" in an excerpt from his new book.
"By 2013 the chaos caucus in the House had built up their own power base thanks to fawning right-wing media and outrage-driven fundraising cash," Boehner wrote in "On the House: A Washington Memoir," a portion of which was published in Politico on Friday. "And now they had a new head lunatic leading the way, who wasn't even a House member. There is nothing more dangerous than a reckless a–hole who thinks he is smarter than everyone else. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Senator Ted Cruz."
This isn't the first time Boehner, who served as House speaker from 2011-2015, has made his dislike for Cruz known. Axios reported in February that Boehner went off-script in the recording of his book and, when discussing Cruz, added, "Oh, and Ted Cruz, go f— yourself."
And in 2016, Boehner called Cruz "Lucifer in the flesh."
"I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life," Boehner said during a talk at Stanford University.
Boehner had comparatively nicer things to say about former President Barack Obama than he does about a whole segment of his own party, which he argues has succumbed to "paranoia" and is led by conspiracy theorists. Boehner wrote that while Obama didn't do enough to appeal to Republicans in Congress, it would've been difficult for him to negotiate with a party led by "right-wing propaganda nuts" and "kooks on YouTube spreading dangerous nonsense" about the then-president.
"[Obama] could come off as lecturing and haughty. He still wasn't making Republican outreach a priority," Boehner wrote. "But on the other hand-how do you find common cause with people who think you are a secret Kenyan Muslim traitor to America?"