George W. Bush Doesn't Seem to Be a Fan of Trumpism

Another prominent Republican is coming out against Trumpism without actually mentioning President Trump by name. In a speech at a Bush Institute event in New York Thursday, former president George W. Bush said that in this moment, "bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication," Politico reports. "Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, and compromises the moral education of children." Politico says the speech, which discussed, among other things, factors Bush believes are contributing to democratic collapse and what needs to be done, made "obvious references to Trump" without his name ever being mentioned.

"We've seen nationalism distorted into nativism, [and] forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America," he said. "Our identity as a nation, unlike other nations, is not determined by geography or ethnicity, by soil or blood," he added, per CNN. "This means that ... bigotry and white supremacy, in any form, is blasphemy against the American creed." Bush said divided partisan politics has failed us and the government is stuck; he also mentioned Russian interference in the last presidential election and called for more election security: "Foreign aggressions, including cyberattacks, disinformation, and financial influence should never be downplayed or tolerated." And he spoke out against isolationism, per the Hill, considering "American security is directly threatened by the chaos and despair of distance places." Sen. John McCain gave a similar speech just days ago. (More George W. Bush stories.)