NYT: George W. Bush Calls for End to Pandemic Partisanship

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Trump rips George W. Bush after he calls for unity amid coronavirus outbreak

President Trump on Sunday took aim at George W. Bush after the former Republican president issued a call to push partisanship aside amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. In a three-minut…

thehill.com

George W. Bush Calls for End to Pandemic Partisanship (Published 2020)

In a video, the former president, who generally avoids speaking out on current affairs, urged Americans to “remember how small our differences are” in a time of crisis. President Trump swiped at him in response.

www.nytimes.com

Former President George W. Bush called on Americans on Saturday to put aside partisan differences, heed the guidance of medical professionals and show empathy for those stricken by the coronavirus and the resulting economic devastation.

In a three-minute video message, Mr. Bush, who rarely speaks out on current events, struck a tone of unity that contrasted with the more combative approach taken at times by President Trump as the former president evoked the sense of national solidarity in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat,” Mr. Bush said in the professionally produced video set against music and photographs of medical workers helping victims of the virus and of ordinary Americans wearing masks. “In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God. We rise or fall together and we are determined to rise.”

Mr. Bush’s message was part of a series of videos aired online as part of a 24-hour live-streamed project, “The Call to Unite,” that also featured Oprah Winfrey, Tim Shriver, Julia Roberts, Martin Luther King III, Sean Combs, Quincy Jones, Naomi Judd, Andrew Yang and others.

In his video message on Saturday, Mr. Bush recalled the difficult days after Sept. 11. “Let us remember, we have faced times of testing before,” he said as images flashed on the screen of him comforting relatives of those killed in the attacks. “Following 9/11, I saw a great nation rise as one to honor the brave, to grieve with the grieving and to embrace unavoidable new duties. And I have no doubt, none at all, that this spirit of service and sacrifice is alive and well in America.”

Mr. Bush also called for compassion, a trait that Mr. Trump has largely eschewed during the pandemic in favor of demonstrating what he considers strength and optimism. “Let us remember that empathy and simple kindness are essential powerful tools of national recovery,” Mr. Bush said. And he added: “Let’s remember that the suffering we experience as a nation does not fall evenly.”