Bush gives harsh critique of political strife under Trump
NEW YORK — Calling this a “unique moment” in the “cause of liberty,” former President George W. Bush gave an unusually scathing rebuke of the current political climate, denouncing many of the principles embraced by the current occupant of the Oval Office as divisive and dangerous to American greatness and democracy.
Without mentioning President Trump by name, Bush lamented the rise in nativist and anti-immigration sentiment, the rebuke of international trade agreements, and the embrace of protectionism that he fears only undermines the nation and fuels poverty, division and racial conflict.
“We have seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty,” Bush said at the “Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World” event hosted in New York by his namesake presidential center. “At times, it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together.”
The remarks were a departure from Bush’s usual reluctance to wade openly into the political fray since leaving office in 2008. Instead the former president has chosen to adhere to the adage that there can be only one president at a time. But yesterday his address was a pointed rejection of the nationalist populism that helped boost Trump to the presidency.
“Bigotry seems emboldened,” Bush said. “Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.”
Bush also sounded the alarm about the attempted Russian interference with American election systems in the 2016 election, which Trump has frequently dismissed as a “hoax,” saying “foreign aggressions, including cyberattacks, disinformation and financial influence should never be downplayed or tolerated.”
Bush made a series of recommendations aimed at boosting the nation’s defense posture, helping American workers better adapt to growing globalism, increasing civil education and dealing with “the problem of declining trust.”
“In all these ways, we need to recall and recover our own identity,” Bush said. “Americans have a great advantage — to renew our country, we only need to remember our values.”