George Bush launches rare critique of Trump

The Telegraph ^ | July 2 | Cameron Henderson

[RandFan]

George W Bush has issued a rare critique of Donald Trump over his shuttering of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The former president joined Barack Obama and U2 singer Bono in an emotional video call farewell with staff at the agency on Monday when it officially ceased operations.

After six decades, the humanitarian organisation created by former president John F Kennedy to promote US national security by boosting prosperity and goodwill abroad, is being absorbed into the State Department under the supervision of Marco Rubio.

Speaking to thousands of agency staff on the video conference, Mr Bush took a thinly veiled swipe at cuts to USAID’s HIV and aids programme. The initiative, launched under his Republican administration, is credited with saving 25 million lives around the world.

“You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work – and that is your good heart,’’ Mr Bush told agency staffers in a recorded message. “Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.”

USAID was one of the first agencies fiercely targeted by Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) cuts to government spending, with Elon Musk branding it a “criminal organisation”.

[Sarah Barracuda]

George W Bush showed more emotion over the closing of USAID which is nothing more than a massive Dem money laundering operation, than the thousands of soldiers he allowed to die in his bogus war

[lee martell]

Well, maybe next year!

[GaltMeister]

Oh Bush knows he gave us Obama

So did McCain and Romney. They did their uniparty thing and threw it for ole Barry.

[Sarah Barracuda]

the majority of the money stayed right here in the US, going to Dem slush funds and Dem NGO’s

[Leaning Right]

George W. Bush is responsible for our failure in Afghanistan. He set the tone, just as LBJ did in Vietnam.

George W. Bush is also responsible for our unnecessary invasion of Iraq. That upset the balance in the whole region.

So much blood and treasure wasted by him. Then there’s his “Islam is peace.” What a horrible, stupid little man.

I am ashamed to have voted for him in 2000. (I did wise up by 2004, and went third-party.)

[MinorityRepublican]

George W Bush showed more emotion over the closing of USAID which is nothing more than a massive Dem money laundering operation, than the thousands of soldiers he allowed to die in his bogus war

I didn't have a problem with Dubya taking out Saddam.

But he should have been more like his father. Bush 41 left Panama after he captured Noriega.

The occupation of Iraq was a mistake.

[isthisnickcool]

“W”, Neil, Babs, HW, Jeb!, Prescott, etc. - All made a lot of money off their government connections and influence. Babs was an especially greedy person. As far as I can tell George P. Bush may be the only one not so greedy as the rest.

I crack up every time I see this video:

https://youtu.be/DCq_4uUNvSg?si=ZZUI2OYjrF3uALyU

[Huskrrrr]

I’ll never forget the Dubya and Big Mike fist bump.

[G Larry]

George, Don't give us all of the marketing lies about all of the "good" it was intended to do!

Instead pay attention to all of the real world waste and fraud that resulted.

[Steve_Seattle]

" . . . the humanitarian organization created by former president John F Kennedy to promote US national security by boosting prosperity and goodwill abroad, is being absorbed into the State Department . . . "

This is the first I've heard that it is being "absorbed into the State Department." This suggests that some aspects of its mission will continue under a new management structure. Hence, those who predict that ending USAID will lead to "millions" of deaths are ignoring the likelihood that some of its programs will continue under new auspices.

[bigbob]

Yeah, there’s gotta be at least a handful of Bushes on that teat...

[Jim W N]

The former president joined Barack Obama

"W" always joins Obama. They're both pro-gov't command and control.

Fugeddabouddit

[MinorityRepublican]

Yeah, there’s gotta be at least a handful of Bushes on that teat...

It'll be interesting to find out if one of Bush's relatives are getting funding thru USAID.

They may have established a "charity".

[DPMD]

Bush went spend crazy in his second term, and said it was necessary to destroy capitalism in order to save it, so he very likely bears some responsibility for the corruption of not only USAID, but of the rest that DOGE uncovered.

He gets no standing to criticize.

[Allegra]

I remember when FOX News sat in a DOGE meeting and one of the DOGE-boys pointed out that over 90% of the money USAID was allocated to do good never got out of DC.

USAID sure had a nice compound in the Green Zone in Baghdad. It looked like Florida - those people were living the good life.

A colleague of mine and I had Embassy badges and used those to talk our way past the guard shack there once just so we could snoop around. They had big grass lawns, palm trees, nice looking living quarters, nice dining facilities, a bar…

Not sure if they were doing anything constructive.

[Tell It Right]

AIDs was NOT a disease of the gay culture in Africa. Without that work that mess would have spread further into Europe and the US.

True that. But don't forget the abstinence component of AIDS help in Africa. W pushed the abstinence component and the Dims heavily fought it. Why? Because in Africa the hedonism and multiple partners is very rampant, even when it's limited to just heterosexual hedonism. Hence the ABC promotion (Abstinence, Be faithful, use a Condom).

[BarbM]

FUGWB

[Vaduz]

I didn’t post this as “News

Ditto

[Dr. Sivana]

“Ah, shut up!”—Ronald Reagan

I use that one on my mouthy 16 year old son. What was Reagan’s context?

[Theodore R.]

Rare? GWB is too pompous to support anything Trump does. The only thing I can say good about him is Alito.