Free Republic

A subsite within my massive website, devoted to George W. Bush and his family. From a past time when I enthusiastically supported him.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday officially designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, returning the rogue nation to a list from which it had been removed during the George W. Bush administration. North Korea had been removed from the list under the George W. Bush administration in an attempt to salvage negotiations for a nuclear deal. The president made the announcement at the White House on Monday morning. North Korea will join Sudan, Syria and Iran as countries that the State Department identifies as ones that have “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.” Administration officials...

My Leftist friends (as well as many ardent #NeverTrumpers) constantly ask me if I’m not bothered by Donald Trump’s lack of decorum. They ask if I don’t think his tweets are “beneath the dignity of the office.” Here’s my answer: We Right-thinking people have tried dignity. There could not have been a man of more quiet dignity than George W. Bush as he suffered the outrageous lies and politically motivated hatreds that undermined his presidency. We tried statesmanship. Could there be another human being on this earth who so desperately prized “collegiality” as John McCain? We tried propriety – has...

All human institutions are essentially a reboot of high school, and within the political scene the Never Trumpers are convinced that they are the cool kids despite being the chess club of American politics. No, they aren't the cool kids. They’re geeks, they haven't won a tournament in years and, more importantly, they're the freaking chess club. In contrast, we normals are just that, the members of the student body who have lives and after-school jobs and girlfriends and who don't care about the dorks padding their resume with student body presidencies or, in this case, jobs at the Eagle Liberty...

So, after eight-plus years of silence by a former Republican president, and eight-plus months of silence by the former Democrat president, what prompted both to come out after President Trump, on the same day? After eight years of political silence, what prompted former President George W. Bush’s speech on 29 October 2017, at the “Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In The World” event in New York, described, in the words of CNN, as “a major smackdown on Trumpism?” “Smackdown” is a gross exaggeration. It was less than that. And it was more than that.

Not really. I did, for awhile, but that was then. This is now:Well, yes, thanks for asking. Since you managed to stay gone and silent for the 8 years of Obama’s transformation of America, you can just go away now and stay gone. And take your Daddy’s New World Order, old guard, with you. We’re Making America Great Again.Posted from: MOTUS A.D.

President George W. Bush on Thursday issued a thinly veiled warning about the state of American democracy under the current president, arguing that "bigotry seems emboldened" and politics is "more vulnerable" to conspiracy theories. Speaking at the George W. Bush Institute's "The Spirit of Liberty: At Home, in the World," a national forum in New York City, the former president warned that the trend in Western countries of moving away from democratic confidence and global engagement is seeping into American culture. Parts of Europe, Bush said, have developed an "identity crisis" as a result of economic stagnation, youth unemployment and...

A Bush Finds His Voice – For eight long years, from January 20, 2009 through January 20, 2017, supporters of former President George W. Bush were saddened and frustrated as Mr. Bush sat idly by while his successor in office and his own supporters trashed Bush’s policies, his reputation and his personality on pretty much a daily basis. For those eight long years, Mr. Bush appeared happy and very much unperturbed as his successor worked overtime to tear down this country’s institutions brick by brick, to foment racial divisions wherever possible, acted in an utterly lawless manner whenever it suited...

Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have voiced concern about the current political climate in the US, in comments seen as a veiled rebuke of Donald Trump's leadership. Mr. Obama urged Americans to reject the politics of "division" and "fear", while Mr. Bush criticized "bullying and prejudice" in public life. They were speaking separately. Neither mentioned President Trump by name.......

George W. Bush hinted Thursday at his dissatisfaction with Donald Trump, complaining in a New York City speech that 'bullying and prejudice' has become a caustic norm in American public life. At an event hosted by the George W. Bush Institute, the 43rd U.S. president rattled off a thinly veiled litany of complaints about the current commander-in-chief, focusing on both his tone and his isolationist policy choices.

Former President George W. Bush said Thursday that "bigotry seems emboldened" in the modern U.S. He also warned that the U.S. needs to accept "globalization" and reject "white supremacy." He criticized the “governing class” without specifically mentioning President Trump. "Discontent deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts" in recent years, he observed during a speech for the George W. Bush Institute. "Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seem more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication."

Cindy Sheehan says President Trump's allegedly insensitive remarks to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger aren't surprising to her, and that former President George W. Bush had a similarly difficult time with her family after her son Casey's 2004 death in Iraq. Bush's treatment of grieving military family members, including Sheehan, who camped outside his Texas ranch to protest the Iraq War, is upheld frequently as an example for Trump to follow. But Sheehan said Bush's attempt to comfort her family and others was rife with awkwardness and upsetting moments, and said she's "not shocked" to read that...

President Donald Trump's recent comments are making Republican strategist Ron Christie nervous – and he told CNBC he's probably not the only one. On Thursday, Trump cryptically suggested that a meeting with senior military leaders was "the calm before the storm. "It gives our allies and adversaries pause for reflection to say, 'What is the United States about to do?'" said Christie, former special assistant to President George W. Bush. President Donald Trump's recent comments are making Republican strategist Ron Christie nervous – and he told CNBC he's probably not the only one. On Thursday, Trump cryptically suggested that a...

How quickly some of us forget. How arrogant some of us have become. Those of you old enough to remember the shock and horror of September 11, answer me this: If I had told you that the George W. Bush’s anti-terror policies would be so effective that after that terrible day jihadist terrorists would kill only three Americans on U.S. soil for the remainder of his term, would you judge his policies a success, or would you call him an “idiot” and hold him and his foreign-policy team in “complete contempt?” I know my answer. I know the fair answer....

Former president George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush condemned hatred and bigotry on Wednesday — a day after President Trump incendiary comments further inflamed racial tensions in the US. “America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms,” the ex-presidents said in a statement issued from their vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine. “America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms,” the ex-presidents said in a statement issued from their vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine. “As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city’s...

Reservations in the White House on troop levels in Afghanistan have reportedly led the Trump Administration to a point where it is considering withdrawing U.S. troops from the beleaguered country altogether, contrary to recommendations from the Pentagon. The Wall Street Journal reported that without managing to green light a plan to send 3,900 more troops to Afghanistan to turn back an advancing Taliban, the White House is instead considering scaling back U.S. presence there. One unnamed senior administration official was quoted as saying that the question of U.S. commitment in Afghanistan is a fundamental one for the White House. “It...

Former President George W. Bush says he can’t remember if he said “that was some weird s***” after President Trump’s inauguration speech in January. He was asked about the alleged remark in an interview that aired on NPR’s “Morning Edition” Thursday. He does, however, clearly remember his awkward response to rain that day. “I wish I got the rain poncho on a little more cleanly,” Bush joked, referring to his struggle to put on a transparent poncho during the ceremony as it began to rain. “My daughters were aghast. ‘Dad, you’re a national tweet sensation. You’re trending,’ or whatever the...

Former president George W. Bush reportedly said Donald Trump’s inaugural speech was “some weird sh-t.” Bush made the comments after the January inauguration ceremony, which was also attended by Presidents Obama, Carter and Clinton, according to New York Magazine. “That was some weird sh-t,” Bush said before departing the dais, where he infamously struggled to wrangle a poncho in the day’s downpour.

A convicted Palestinian terrorist and a key figure of the recent Women’s March will be deported from the United States after accepting a plea bargain that allows her to escape a prison sentence.Rasmea Odeh will be stripped of her U.S citizenship and forced to leave the country and return to Jordan after failing to disclose to immigration authorities that she had been imprisoned in Israel for committing two terror attacks.As part of her plea bargain, however, Odeh won’t have to spend time in U.S prison or detention, according to a statement on Thursday by the Rasmea Defense Committee.The terrorist-turned-activist rose to prominence in...

One day in late spring in the early days of the George W. Bush administration, FDA inspectors visited the headquarters of Sargento cheese in Plymouth, Wisconsin—a routine visit as part of the federal government's efforts to ensure the safety of the food we eat. The inspectors took samples of cheese to test for bacteria. Sargento conducted tests on cheese from the same lot. A week later, the results from both sets of tests were in—the cheese was bacteria-free. Sargento, having gotten the all-clear from the government, shipped the cheese to stores across the country. Two months later, however, the FDA...