Former U.S. president George W. Bush is making headlines once again after he criticized the political climate America is in right now. Without saying any names, the younger Bush issued a thinly veiled rebuke at how President Donald Trump is running the country.
George W. Bush speaks out
The 71-year old retired politician and former POTUS said his two cents on the administration during the National Forum on Freedom, Free Markets, and Security hosted by the Bush Institute. In the speech, George W. Bush addressed race, nationalism, and Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 election that elected Donald Trump.
He decried how bullying and prejudice have become a norm in the public since the campaign.
George W. Bush also defended immigration in his time on stage. He reminded the crowd about the “dynamism,” and the new perspectives immigration has brought to the United States. He lamented how the nationalism of a lot of Americans became nativism and how the important role of immigrants in the building of the economy should not be forgotten. He also denounced the mainstreaming of white supremacy, something Donald Trump critics have always called the current president to do.
He also encouraged people to return their confidence to the free markets and international trade. He blasted the protectionism advocated by the POTUS as a precursor to poverty, instability and possibly, conflict.
But most importantly, he warned Russia for its “broad, systematic and stealthy” approach in “turning Americans against each other.” George W. Bush seemingly took Donald Trump to task for downplaying the role Russia had on the 2016 elections.
POTUS’ track record with the Bushes
Even before, the POTUS already had a complicated relationship with the Bushes.
In one of the debates of the Republican Party for its presidential nomination, he famously claimed that George W. Bush “lied” about the need for the United States to go to war with Iraq.
He said that Iraq did not have any weapons of mass destruction, which did not necessitate a war declaration. When he made the remark, he was even unconcerned about how it will affect his votes in the primaries.
Donald Trump also beat out Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor and a brother of George W. Bush, for the Republican nomination. Trump famously belittled Jeb during his own primary campaign, which drew outrage from conservatives and fellow candidates.
