(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . How Bush made Trump [1] ['Oliver Willis'] Date: 2026-09-12 Explaining the Right is a weekly series that looks at what the right wing is currently obsessing over, how it influences politics—and why you need to know. This past week, Americans observed the 25th anniversary of 9/11. And despite the time that has passed, today’s political landscape eerily resembles the chaotic two-term presidency of George W. Bush. Under both Bush and President Donald Trump, the United States launched a war in the Middle East based on lies, was in the throes of an economic slump, and had an unprepared and serially deceptive Republican president who lacked the intellectual capacity for the job. Former President George W. Bush walks past President Donald Trump to speak at the State Funeral for his father, former President George H.W. Bush, on Dec. 5, 2018. AP While Trump has taken great pains over his political career to distance himself from the Bush family—even lobbing a vicious attack against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2016—he owes a debt to Bush for setting the stage for his biggest failures. Both Bush and Trump backed into the job, with Bush losing the popular vote in 2000 to former Vice President Al Gore and sliding into the presidency thanks to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. And Trump, of course, lost the popular vote by almost 2.9 million votes in 2016 against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Both were also beneficiaries of extremely forgiving media coverage while their Democratic opponents were dogged by years of media hostility. Bush was widely depicted as an affable southern governor while his business dealings received scant scrutiny, and Trump was afforded hours upon hours of free airtime while more skeptical coverage of his failed businesses and bigoted ideas failed to surface in the mainstream media. For Bush, this went into overdrive after 9/11, when his administration used the opportunity to push for severe restrictions on civil liberties via legislation like the Patriot Act—the type of behavior that has become increasingly harsh and militarized by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump. Similarly, Bush used lies about a purported connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda to make the case for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. While Trump didn’t bother to lay out the groundwork for attacking Iran, both wars share deception and botched execution in ways that will hurt the United States for years to come. In addition to media complicity, the Democratic Party also played a role in enabling Bush’s and Trump’s worst behaviors. For Bush, this took the form of Democratic leaders—like former House Minority and Majority Leader Dick Gephardt—signing on to the invasion of Iraq despite protests from the left. Protesters demonstrate against a possible war against Iraq in London in 2003. AP For Trump, Democratic support has appeared in votes for his Cabinet nominees and federal judges, leading to Democrats later expressing regret over voting for figures like Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Domestically, both presidents infamously tried—and failed—to paper over disastrous and deadly events with happy talk. As it became clear that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina was woefully inadequate—particularly in lower-income areas of New Orleans—Bush praised then-FEMA Director Michael Brown. “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job” became synonymous with Bush’s out-of-touch approach to the presidency, especially while the predominantly Black city was going through hell. Trump demonstrated his capacity for Bush-style happy talk in 2020 when COVID-19 first emerged. Even as global and domestic death tolls surged, Trump again and again asserted that the virus would simply go away. It was as if Bush were right back in office. Perhaps the biggest dividing line for the two unpopular Republicans is that during Bush’s tenure, he and many within the GOP felt the need to at least present the party’s callous policies to the public under a veneer of caring. Thus, Bush and his inner circle frequently invoked the notion of “compassionate conservatism,” even when seeking to restrict abortion, oppose same-sex marriage, cut the social safety net, and impose other destructive policies. Protesters march in Austin, Texas, to oppose the war in Iran on April 8. AP Trump, on the other hand, isn’t nearly as subtle. He isn’t capable of that type of finesse, instead delighting in bullying and taunting people. Still, Bush and Trump share a deep affiliation with extremist conservative policies that favor the needs and desires of the super-rich while forcing the poor and working class to make do with much less. They’re both in their element hobnobbing with the elite rather than fighting for families that can’t afford to donate millions to them and their allies. With Republicans leading the House and Senate and a right-wing Supreme Court, Trump is at the peak of his power. And yet, because of his pursuit of much of the same agenda that Bush left unfinished, Trump is widely unpopular and disliked. They are both alike in a race for the bottom. And while it would have been unfathomable in the waning days of Bush’s presidency, Trump is now a serious contender for the most disliked president of all time. You could even say he’s done a “heck of a job.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/9/12/800097079/series/how-bush-made-trump/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/