The United States is in a dire situation, and President George W. Bush stepped forward to bring attention to the reasons why. Even though Donald Trump denies it, we know that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Worse, Moscow has not stopped.
President Bush spoke in Abu Dhabi, which is the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about what Russia is doing to our democracy, according to The Associated Press:
‘There’s pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled. Whether they affected the outcome is another question. It’s problematic that a foreign nation is involved in our election system. Our democracy is only as good as people trust the results.’
Bush spent eight years in the Oval Office dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and understands him far better than we realized. At first, the 43rd president was taken in by Putin, but he soon wised up:
‘He’s got a chip on his shoulder. The reason he does is because of the demise of the Soviet Union troubles him. Therefore, much of his moves (are) to regain Soviet hegemony. (Putin) is pushing, constantly pushing, probing weaknesses. That’s why NATO is very important.’
Trump denies everything, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that nothing can be done about Russia’s war on our democracy. They are wrong. Our talented government security organizations just need the word to move vigorously against the problem.
Although President Bush never mentioned 45 by name, he criticized the sitting president scrapping the Dream Act. Now, 800,000 young people who came here only because their parents brought them are in jeopardy. The 43rd president said:
‘America’s their home. They’ve got to get it fixed. There are people willing to do jobs that Americans won’t do. Americans don’t want to pick cotton at 105 degrees (Fahrenheit), but there are people who want put food on their family’s tables and are willing to do that. We ought to say thank you and welcome them.’
The younger Bush president was the first U.S. president to visit the UAE in 2008. This speech was at a summit at Abu Dhabi sponsored by the economic think tank out of California, the Milken Institute.
Featured Image via Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla.
