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BumRushDaShow

(168,069 posts)
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 09:04 AM Feb 16

George W. Bush Subtly Trashes Trump in Presidents Day Message

Source: Daily Beast

Updated Feb. 16 2026 8:45AM EST
Published Feb. 16 2026 8:20AM EST


George W. Bush has penned a Presidents Day essay that made some pointed observations about power, humility, and presidents who refuse to step down from office. The essay was published Monday by More Perfect, a bipartisan alliance working to “protect and renew” American democracy in the lead-up to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The piece, which pays homage to George Washington, is the inaugural entry in a new history project called “In Pursuit,” and while it does not name President Donald Trump, it does seem to shade him, The New York Times reported. “Our first president could have remained all-powerful, but twice he chose not to,” Bush wrote. “In doing so, he set a standard for all presidents to live up to.”

The first president’s decision to relinquish control of the U.S. Army after the American Revolution and to step down from the presidency after two terms “ensured America wouldn’t become a monarchy, or worse,” Bush added.

His words seemed heavy with subtext, considering the current occupant of the White House tried to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and is now threatening to run for a third, illegal presidential term.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/george-w-bush-subtly-trashes-donald-trump-in-presidents-day-message/



Link to ESSAY - George Washington by George W. Bush
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George W. Bush Subtly Trashes Trump in Presidents Day Message (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Feb 16 OP
How is this mass murderer walking free? Go back in your back in your bottle Shrub Blues Heron Feb 16 #1
As if he has any right to lecture anyone. BlueTsunami2018 Feb 16 #2
Yeah, I haven't forgotten those 8 long Bush years PatSeg Feb 16 #6
Hear, hear. As I told a Repug friend in January 1999: peppertree Feb 16 #22
That was very prescient of you PatSeg Feb 16 #27
Why, thank you Pat. It is what it is. peppertree Feb 16 #29
Wow, some friend PatSeg Feb 16 #32
Well said. peppertree Feb 16 #33
You're welcome PatSeg Feb 16 #34
From the OP link FakeNoose Feb 16 #3
"It's hard to believe that Dubya actually wrote this .... But DAMN!" BumRushDaShow Feb 16 #8
Maybe Laura his wife had something to do with writing this FakeNoose Feb 16 #9
I expect he still has staff who work for him for when he does appearances BumRushDaShow Feb 16 #10
Copilot probably wrote that. Mosby Feb 16 #13
I doubt that ... it's too nuanced and incisive FakeNoose Feb 16 #23
He probably didn't write it FoxNewsSucks Feb 16 #19
sublty can be so loud at times--as in this case. But I think Trumps pea brain will not get it!! riversedge Feb 16 #4
Too little and 15 months too late, W SSJVegeta Feb 16 #5
He wrote an essay? Zackzzzz Feb 16 #7
More weak tea anyone? FalloutShelter Feb 16 #11
Yep. Real profile in courage, that one. Scrivener7 Feb 16 #26
There's a straight line from Bush's "extraordinary rendition" of "enemy combatants"... CaptainTruth Feb 16 #12
Shrub was never known for subtlety Jilly_in_VA Feb 16 #14
He and his family have an obligation to do much, much more. nt wiggs Feb 16 #15
"I'm a member of a Secret Society, a society so secret, I can't even talk about it." czarjak Feb 16 #16
Thanks George. Gore would have been better, but history is history. twodogsbarking Feb 16 #17
The war criminal finally said something??? FoxNewsSucks Feb 16 #18
He was never this eloquent Bayard Feb 16 #20
I have mixed emotions about George and his dad. Not sure if they were the organ grinders or the monkeys. twodogsbarking Feb 16 #21
Oooooo mahina Feb 16 #24
Tragedy RogueTrooper Feb 16 #25
I DETEST hearing Trump somehow makes Dubya "look good" Skittles Feb 16 #37
He could and SHOULD do a LOT more, but I'll take what I can get for now! tableturner Feb 16 #28
I suppose NO ONE ever had a come to Jesus moment GenThePerservering Feb 16 #30
Pres Dump will be calling him a lot of names on his social media account soon. mdbl Feb 16 #31
He wrote something? LudwigPastorius Feb 16 #35
FUCK YOU Dubya, you warmongering piece of SHIT Skittles Feb 16 #36
GW Bush killed American democracy in 2000! DemocracyForever Feb 18 #38

BlueTsunami2018

(4,934 posts)
2. As if he has any right to lecture anyone.
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 09:17 AM
Feb 16

Stole his way into office, started two wars we had absolutely no business being involved with, destroyed the economy for the working class, pressed the unitary executive case, Katrina, outed undercover agents, exploited 9/11 continuously to scare citizens into going along with their bullshit.

Just because he wasn’t as vulgar as Piss, that doesn’t make him any better.

This whole “rehab” his image is going through disgusts me.

PatSeg

(52,843 posts)
6. Yeah, I haven't forgotten those 8 long Bush years
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 09:31 AM
Feb 16

I believe he laid the groundwork for someone like Trump to become president. Though Bush wasn't nearly as bad as Trump, he was an incompetent, reckless president. I'm beginning to believe there is no such thing as an honest, decent republican. As such, Trump isn't really the problem, republicans are.

peppertree

(23,229 posts)
22. Hear, hear. As I told a Repug friend in January 1999:
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 12:09 PM
Feb 16

Last edited Mon Feb 16, 2026, 04:18 PM - Edit history (1)

"Bush will be the nominee - and if he wins, there'll be nothing but wars and recessions."

I was also fairly certain that the first such war, would come about by way of some well-staged, false-flag incident - and that the media would breathlessly follow along like Labrador Retrievers.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

PatSeg

(52,843 posts)
27. That was very prescient of you
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 02:37 PM
Feb 16

He certainly brought about wars and recession in record time. Of course, it wasn't his fault that we were attacked on 9/11*, but he was responsible for his war hawk reaction. I think he went into office determined to invade Iraq as he was competing with his own father. 9/11 gave him the excuse he needed.

So what did your repug friend say?


* I know some people do hold him accountable, but I think he was more guilty of negligence when he overlooked the "Bin Laden determined to strike in the U.S." report. I'm not so sure about some of the other members of the Bush administration though. Many benefited from the invasion of Iraq.

peppertree

(23,229 posts)
29. Why, thank you Pat. It is what it is.
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 04:17 PM
Feb 16

We were working out together at the gym. He looked at me with a sideways glace that just reeked of "there he goes again, sounding crazy."

The friendship fell apart shortly afterward after he came to my house wearing a bug (I was briefly a 'person of interest' in a case of missing bank money - which, it later turned out, had been pinched by a loan officer with gambling debts). He seemed to enjoy it - which really did it.

The memory, I must admit, still bothers me to this day. A common tale, certainly.

Qué será.



PatSeg

(52,843 posts)
32. Wow, some friend
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 07:43 PM
Feb 16

I guess that was no loss then. I think we've all lost friends and even relatives in recent years. Some differences just can't be condoned or brushed aside. I guess that former friend really showed his true colors and obviously couldn't be trusted.

peppertree

(23,229 posts)
33. Well said.
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 08:09 PM
Feb 16

Small potatoes, really - but it's harder when you "clicked" with said person. Past-life issue, I shouldn't wonder.

Anyway, that was aeons ago.

Thank you for your kind thoughts, Pat, and All the Best.

PatSeg

(52,843 posts)
34. You're welcome
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 09:56 PM
Feb 16

It helps to have an outlet for our experiences and frustrations. DU tends to be my safe place.

FakeNoose

(41,103 posts)
3. From the OP link
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 09:24 AM
Feb 16

George W. Bush's essay extraction:

As America’s first president, Washington knew “the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent.” So after two terms in office, with a distrust of long-seated rulers still fresh on America’s soul, Washington chose not to run again for president. And by once again relinquishing power rather than holding on to it, he ensured America wouldn’t become a monarchy, or worse.

Our first leader helped define not only the character of the presidency but the character of the country. Washington modeled what it means to put the good of the nation over self-interest and selfish ambition. He embodied integrity and modeled why it’s worth aspiring to. And he carried himself with dignity and self-restraint, honoring the office without allowing it to become invested with near-mythical powers.


It's hard to believe that Dubya actually wrote this .... But DAMN!

BumRushDaShow

(168,069 posts)
8. "It's hard to believe that Dubya actually wrote this .... But DAMN!"
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 09:48 AM
Feb 16

I doubt he wrote that.

There was a song in "Hamilton" about what he is referencing though -

FakeNoose

(41,103 posts)
9. Maybe Laura his wife had something to do with writing this
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 09:55 AM
Feb 16

She's a former school teacher after all. And it always seemed that she had educational rather than political interests in mind.

BumRushDaShow

(168,069 posts)
10. I expect he still has staff who work for him for when he does appearances
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 10:01 AM
Feb 16

and he could probably pick up the phone and call one of them (an old speechwriter perhaps) to help with a draft.

FakeNoose

(41,103 posts)
23. I doubt that ... it's too nuanced and incisive
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 01:10 PM
Feb 16

Never give any AI ap more credit than it deserves. Americans having a standard high school education can compose better essays than any AI ap.

FoxNewsSucks

(11,643 posts)
19. He probably didn't write it
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 11:47 AM
Feb 16

but if you look up videos from the TX gubernatorial debates, he actually doesn't come across as an idiot. He was still wrong and an asshole, but back then he didn't sound stupid.

After 9/11 is when he turned dumb.

CaptainTruth

(8,139 posts)
12. There's a straight line from Bush's "extraordinary rendition" of "enemy combatants"...
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 10:46 AM
Feb 16

...to what the Trump Cabal is doing to people they've called "unlawful combatants" with his ICE gestapo.

Same MO, like Bush provided the playbook, & he argued (his attorneys, in court) that he had the right to do it to American citizens. Capture them & send them to foreign "black sites" with no due process, by simply calling them "enemy combatants."

Trump just changed a word & uses the term "unlawful combatants," & Bush/Cheney etc set the stage for it.

czarjak

(13,545 posts)
16. "I'm a member of a Secret Society, a society so secret, I can't even talk about it."
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 11:18 AM
Feb 16

But, we’re The Deep-State?
They deceive. Rubes believe.
All about The R?

Bayard

(29,211 posts)
20. He was never this eloquent
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 11:52 AM
Feb 16

Somebody else wrote this, but nice he signed off on it. He still had a disgraceful time in office.

twodogsbarking

(18,251 posts)
21. I have mixed emotions about George and his dad. Not sure if they were the organ grinders or the monkeys.
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 11:55 AM
Feb 16

Puppets on strings maybe.

Skittles

(170,639 posts)
37. I DETEST hearing Trump somehow makes Dubya "look good"
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 10:43 PM
Feb 16

HELL FUCKING NO, they are both VILE, DISGUSTING creatures who immeasurably HARMED America.

tableturner

(1,837 posts)
28. He could and SHOULD do a LOT more, but I'll take what I can get for now!
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 02:52 PM
Feb 16

Yes, he should do a lot more and should have started criticizing sooner. However, we are in a war for democracy's existence and I won't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I'll take what I can get while pushing for more.

LudwigPastorius

(14,485 posts)
35. He wrote something?
Mon Feb 16, 2026, 10:17 PM
Feb 16

Wow, all of his brush must have been cleared...and it was a Sunday so the tangled brush store was closed and he couldn't get any more. (hic!)

DemocracyForever

(57 posts)
38. GW Bush killed American democracy in 2000!
Wed Feb 18, 2026, 12:29 PM
Feb 18

No amount of "charm" by this thief will ever change the reality that he killed American democracy in 2000 and helped to create the current White House monster. Our country will never be the same.

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