Bush condemns rise of bigotry and bullying

GEORGE W BUSH has issued a thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump as he criticised the “casual cruelty” and “conspiracy theories” in modern politics.

The speech marked a rare appearance for the former president, who has avoided public statements, despite expressing unease with Mr Trump when he ran for president. “Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seem more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication,” Mr Bush said in a speech at his institute yesterday.

Mr Bush said “bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone” and left young Americans lacking in role models. He also issued a rejection of white supremacists, saying that such views were tantamount to “blasphemy against the American creed”.

It came as Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail for the first time since he left the White House, urging voters in New Jersey to reject the “politics of division” by supporting Democrats in next month’s state elections.

♦ John Kelly. Mr Trump’s chief of staff, who lost a son in battle, said he advised the president to use the phrase to console a widow that has prompted a backlash. In an emotional press conference, he said he told Mr Trump to say the soldier “knew what he was getting into” because the words brought him comfort.