- Former President George W. Bush said the Capitol rebellion made him sick to his stomach.
- Bush issued a statement shortly after the turmoil and this week said he was “still upset” by him.
- He hardly blamed Trump, but it is a forceful assessment of the former president.
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Former President George W. Bush said the Capitol rebellion made him sick to his stomach and labeled President Donald Trump’s followers who invaded the building as “hostile forces”.
In an interview with Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, Bush described how watching the January 6 attack “really disturbed him”, both then and now.
“I was sick to my stomach … seeing our nation’s capitol being invaded by hostile forces,” he said.
“And it really disturbed me to the point of making a statement, and I am still disturbed when I think about it. It undermines the rule of law, the ability to express itself peacefully in the public square. An expression that was not peaceful.”
Bush has maintained a relatively low political profile since leaving office, becoming known for starting to paint. But after the attack on the Capitol, he issued a statement saying he was “horrified” by the behavior of some political leaders – an apparent reference to Trump. He also compared the tactics of the rioters to those of a “banana republic”.
Earlier this month, Bush joined other former presidents to promote the COVID-19 vaccine in a TV ad that notably excluded Trump.
In his interview with the Texas Tribune, parts of which were subsequently broadcast on CNN, he gave a rude question to whether he thought the election was stolen from Trump.
George W. Bush speaking to the Texas Tribune in an interview segment broadcast on CNN.
Texas Tribune / SXSW / CNN
After the election, Trump and many Republicans perpetuated the allegation of widespread electoral fraud that, despite having been repelled in the courts, angered the followers of the former president.
But Bush said he was “optimistic” about democracy and that the current “anger in the system” may “eventually get out of the system”.
“The history of the United States shows that these populist movements are beginning to deteriorate over time,” he said.