Culture

George W. Bush Laments The Rise Of Bigotry And Conspiracy Theories In Trump’s America

That former President George W. Bush is not a fan of Donald Trump is nothing new. From chastising his Republican successor for his many battles with the media and the controversial Muslim travel ban, to describing Trump’s explosive inaugural address as “some weird sh*t,” Bush has made his opinions abundantly clear. During remarks he delivered on Thursday at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, however, the former president codified his political opinions into something more than just another attack on Trump. Instead, Bush tackled the alarming growth of bigotry, conspiracy theories and other problematic notions:

“In recent decades, public confidence in our institutions has declined. The American dream of upward mobility seems out of reach for some who feel left behind in a changing economy. Discontent deepened and sharpened. Partisan conflicts. Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication. There are some signs that the intensity of support for democracy has waned, especially among the young, who never experienced the galvanizing moral clarity of the Cold War. Or have never focused on the ruin of entire nations by socialist central planning.”

Continuing, Bush referred to what he called “democratic deconsolidation,” by which some experts fear “citizens of mature democracies have become markedly less satisfied with their form of government and surprisingly open to nondemocratic alternatives.” As a result, political scientists suspect a “democratic disconnect has emerged,” allowing dissatisfied citizens to ponder various alternatives that may prove disastrously worse. “Really, it seems to be a combination of weariness, frayed tempers, and forgetfulness,” Bush countered.

Despite his more measured statements, however, Bush didn’t opt out of chastising the current administration’s policy positions — especially those making the aforementioned divides that much worse. “People of every race, religion, and ethnicity can be fully and equally American,” he said. “Bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed.” If that weren’t enough, he also highlighted something Trump himself tweeted against that morning — that U.S. intelligence had determined “the Russian government has made a project of turning Americans against each other.

(Via ABC News)

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