George W. Bush just laid a major smackdown on Trumpism
George W. Bush
(CNN)  George W. Bush  doesn't talk much about politics in public. Which makes the speech  he  gave Thursday in New York City -- a point-by-point rejection of Trumpism -- all the more important and noteworthy.
The 43rd president of the United States -- and the last Republican to hold the office before Donald Trump -- didn't mention  the 45th president by name in his speech at the George W. Bush Institute . But Trump -- and his views -- were ever-present in the former President's address.
 Bush  condemned "nationalism distorted into nativism."
 He  derided "discourse degraded by casual cruelty."
 He  acknowledged that "our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication."
And  most importantly   Bush  said that "bigotry seems emboldened."
The two speeches  taken together  amount to a verbal lapel-shaking by  Bush  and McCain of the Republican Party they have led over the past two decades. "Wake up!"  Bush  and McCain are saying to their party. "What Trump represents is neither Republican nor conservative. It is Trump. Which is fine for Trump but far less fine for the medium-to-long-term health of the Grand Old Party."
There will be some who question  Bush 's motives. (Trump  via Twitter  may be one of them.) After all  Trump savaged "low-energy"  Jeb Bush  during the 2016 campaign. And the Bush family is literally one of the cornerstones of the Republican political establishment. Of course they don't like that someone like Trump is overthrowing them -- and their failed policies and political tactics!
But it's important to remember that the presidency is viewed by those who have held the office as a sort of sacred trust. Yes  George W. Bush saw the world differently than Barack Obama did -- and each man pursued divergent policies in office. What they shared  however  was a fundamental desire to remind Americans of our common humanity  to look to the future as a more optimistic  more tolerant and  yes  better place. They believed in the idea that America was forever moving toward a more perfect union and that their job was to help steer the country in that direction as quickly and safely as possible.
It's easy to paint Trumpism as solely a rejection of Obama's presidency. But to do so would be to ignore the degree to which Trump has sought to undo  Bush 's focus on on free trade agreements as a way to guard against global protectionism   his  belief in the need for comprehensive immigration reform as consistent with the founding ideals of the country and  his  unwillingness to paint Islam with the broad brush of terrorism.
 Bush 's speech Thursday was a re-assertion of those views and  as such  a rejection of Trumpism.
"We become the heirs of Martin Luther King Jr. by recognizing one another not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character "  Bush  said toward the end of  his  speech. "This means people of every race  ethnicity and religion can be fully and equally American. It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed. It means the very identity of our nation depends on the passing of civic ideals to the next generation."
(CNN)  [TGT]doesn't talk much about politics in public. Which makes the speech  [TGT]  gave Thursday in New York City -- a point-by-point rejection of Trumpism -- all the more important and noteworthy.
The 43rd president of the United States -- and the last Republican to hold the office before Donald Trump -- didn't mention  the 45th president by name in his speech at the George W. Bush Institute . But Trump -- and his views -- were ever-present in the former President's address.
 [TGT]condemned "nationalism distorted into nativism."
 [TGT]  derided "discourse degraded by casual cruelty."
 [TGT]  acknowledged that "our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication."
And  most importantly   [TGT]said that "bigotry seems emboldened."
The two speeches  taken together  amount to a verbal lapel-shaking by  Bush  and McCain of the Republican Party they have led over the past two decades. "Wake up!"  Bush  and McCain are saying to their party. "What Trump represents is neither Republican nor conservative. It is Trump. Which is fine for Trump but far less fine for the medium-to-long-term health of the Grand Old Party."
There will be some who question  [TGT] 's motives. (Trump  via Twitter  may be one of them.) After all  Trump savaged "low-energy"  [TGT]  during the 2016 campaign. And the [TGT] family is literally one of the cornerstones of the Republican political establishment. Of course they don't like that someone like Trump is overthrowing them -- and their failed policies and political tactics!
But it's important to remember that the presidency is viewed by those who have held the office as a sort of sacred trust. Yes  [TGT] saw the world differently than Barack Obama did -- and each man pursued divergent policies in office. What they shared  however  was a fundamental desire to remind Americans of our common humanity  to look to the future as a more optimistic  more tolerant and  yes  better place. They believed in the idea that America was forever moving toward a more perfect union and that their job was to help steer the country in that direction as quickly and safely as possible.
It's easy to paint Trumpism as solely a rejection of Obama's presidency. But to do so would be to ignore the degree to which Trump has sought to undo  [TGT] 's focus on on free trade agreements as a way to guard against global protectionism   [TGT]  belief in the need for comprehensive immigration reform as consistent with the founding ideals of the country and  [TGT]  unwillingness to paint Islam with the broad brush of terrorism.
 [TGT] 's speech Thursday was a re-assertion of those views and  as such  a rejection of Trumpism.
"We become the heirs of Martin Luther King Jr. by recognizing one another not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character "  [TGT]said toward the end of  [TGT]  speech. "This means people of every race  ethnicity and religion can be fully and equally American. It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed. It means the very identity of our nation depends on the passing of civic ideals to the next generation."