Two Former Presidents Call for the Nation to Come Together

In separate appearances on October 19, former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both warned that the United States is being torn apart by hatred and called for the nation to come together. Neither Bush nor Obama mentioned President Donald Trump by name. But both speeches sounded to many like sharp critiques of the current president.

Bush, the last Republican to sit in the Oval Office, spoke out at a conference in New York. He defended immigration and free trade and condemned bigotry.

“We’ve . . . forgotten the dynamism that immigration has always brought to America,” Bush said. “We’ve seen the return of isolationist sentiments, forgetting that American security is directly threatened by the chaos and despair of distant places.”

Obama—speaking in New Jersey at a campaign rally for a Democrat running for governor—defended his record on health care at a time when Trump has been trying to dismantle it. He also pointed to the social, economic, and racial divides that threaten American society.

“What we can’t have is the same old politics of division that we have seen so many times before, that dates back centuries,” Obama said. “Some of the politics we see now, we thought we put that to bed. That has folks looking 50 years back. It’s the 21st century, not the 19th century. Come on!”

Both Bush and Obama have largely avoided criticizing Trump since he was inaugurated in January. But the sight of the two most recent presidents back on the public stage on the same day, however coincidental, reinforced the broad alarm among establishment leaders of both parties.

“The two presidents speaking out so forcefully and eloquently is a warning that some basic principles of democracy that both parties have long supported at home and abroad are in jeopardy,” says Antony J. Blinken, who served as Obama’s deputy secretary of state and attended Bush’s speech on Thursday.

In his speech, Bush emphasized the seriousness of the Russian effort to influence last year's election, interference that Trump has dismissed as a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats and the news media. “America has experienced a sustained attempt by a hostile power to feed and exploit our country’s divisions,” Bush said.

He also worried that “bigotry seems emboldened” and spoke out forcefully against hate groups.

“We know that when we lose sight of our ideals, it is not democracy that has failed,” Bush said. “It is the failure of those charged with preserving and protecting democracy.”

He also released a “call to action” report, which examins threats to American democracy and makes recommendations for protecting U.S. institutions. The paper was drafted by two former White House officials—a Democrat and a Republican, making it a bipartisan effort.

Asked by a reporter as he left the hall whether his message would be heard in the White House, Bush smiled, nodded slightly and said, “I think it will.”

In keeping with tradition, Obama has mostly stayed out of the political fray since leaving office in January.

“You notice I haven’t been commenting a lot on politics lately,” he said, speaking in Richmond, Virginia, after the New Jersey campaign appearance. “But here’s one thing I know: If you have to win a campaign by dividing people, you’re not going be able to govern them.”

He added: “Instead of looking for ways to work together to get things done in a practical way, we’ve got folks who are deliberately trying to make folks angry, to demonize people who have different ideas, to get the base all riled up because it provides a short-term tactical advantage.”

Obama largely avoided speaking about specific policy debates, but his implied reference to President Trump was clear.

“The world counts on America having its act together,” Obama said. “The world is looking to us as an example. The world asks what our values and ideals are and are we living up to our creed.”

There was no immediate comment from President Trump or the White House on the former presidents’ remarks.