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George W. Bush Can Suck It

He didn’t throw shade at Trump; he whitewashed authoritarianism.

Jonathan V. Last's avatar
Jonathan V. Last
Feb 17, 2026
∙ Paid
Former President George W. Bush on May 15, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

1. W: The Essayist

Perhaps you heard that President George W. Bush criticized President Donald Trump yesterday?

  • “George W. Bush Subtly Trashes Trump in Presidents Day Message,” Daily Beast

  • “George W. Bush Torches Trump in Presidents’ Day Message,” New Republic

  • “A Love Letter With an Edge,” New York Times

This isn’t quite right. Yesterday Bush wrote a little essay about George Washington on Substack. But it was not a criticism of Trump, it was a whitewash.

This is a petty complaint. I understand that. Nothing in the real world will be affected by Bush’s insipid essay. His essay is so inconsequential that it won’t even get a footnote on his Wikipedia page. But I want to go HAM just the same, because,

  1. his foolishness is an insult to everyone trying to preserve liberal democracy in this moment; and

  2. he is emblematic of the weakness and decadence that Trump recognized in America’s political elites.

Let’s bury this motherfu

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