General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCompare your feelings toward Bush and Trump
As bad as Bush was, he at least had basic respect for the office. Trump is not even close.
Much as I completely detest Cheney, I find him less loathsome than Trump.
Make your comparisons here . . . . .
janterry
(4,429 posts)but this is so much worse . Trump is just a terrible excuse for a human being - and to hear people defend him. I can't hardly take it.
Jarqui
(10,131 posts)Trump has dishonest, incapable people
Bush's people knew how government worked. Trump & his people don't seem to understand that.
Differences on respect of the office is a fair point.
Both are bad news but Trump is worse news.
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)LisaM
(27,847 posts)I can't normalize that. And, they all want the same terrible things, huge handouts for the rich and their corporate buddies, awful SCOTUS nominees, and a permanently gerrymandered voting landscape enhanced by voter suppression.
samnsara
(17,651 posts)Living through the Bush years was pretty terrible, and he was an awful president in many ways, but Trump is so, so, so much worse. I don't recall Bush having a general disregard for the truth or attempting to divide the country like Trump is.
BannonsLiver
(16,531 posts)Outside of Hitler theres no one I know of living or dead that I have more hatred and contempt for than Trump and his supporters.
W was terrible and a dolt as well and did great damage. But trump has taken hatred to levels previously not thought to be possible.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I feel physically ill just hearing or thinking about him.
Runningdawg
(4,527 posts)is what sets Trump apart from any other POTUS. You might even call it a death wish. He will tweet, say, do ANYTHING to draw down the wrath of our enemies and turn our allies against us.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Among other disastrous consequences.
Runningdawg
(4,527 posts)His need for nuclear war. A pre-emptive first strike by America on a target of his choice. Could be NK could be California.
0rganism
(23,977 posts)Trump's crappy presidenting is a subset of his horribleness as a person.
W's presidential awfulness was a special outgrowth of his awful political ideals. Trump has no ideals other than his sense of entitled personal superiority.
uponit7771
(90,367 posts)... no nothing.
pansypoo53219
(21,005 posts)how DARE THEY. the GOP needs to DIE! how dare they.
nevergiveup
(4,768 posts)Bush was an idiot.....Trump is a delusional monster.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)GeorgeGist
(25,326 posts)Trump is like shit we can taste.
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)From the invasion of Iraq to the expiration of the assault weapon ban, bush is still bad enough. tRump has contempt for the rule of law and the constitution, not to mention petulantly ripping into the country with no respect for our institutions or just people in general who disagree with him.
They're brothers as far as repugnant humans go.
struggle4progress
(118,379 posts)Solly Mack
(90,795 posts)Sorry, but I don't think war criminals have any redeeming qualities. Time doesn't change that.
That idea that Bush didn't harm the country long term is laughable. We're still experiencing problems caused by Bush. The Patriot Act is still law. GTMO is still GTMO. Trump wants to bring back extraordinary rendition and torture through private companies - actions Bush made acceptable (otherwise, they'd be in prison). Don't think for a second that Cheney's "unitary executive" isn't at play in the Trump White House. Meaning, the push for the expansion of presidential power is still going strong.
We're still in Iraq.
We're still in Afghanistan.
Recall how Bush claimed the courts held no power over his actions.
That thinking is still front and center today.
The Bush admin. stonewalled FOIA requests.
And the list goes on.
Bush (Cheney, the rest of the republicans) nurtured and fostered the environment we are in today.
The Bush administration attacked the Press as well.
Don't have to trust my memory, take a walk down memory lane - it's still there...do a search.
The recent alligator attack doesn't cause me to remember fondly the shark attack 17 years ago.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,222 posts)Here's the key distinction between the two, however.
If George W. Bush was never the President, never the son of a President, never anywhere near politics, but instead was...say.....my next door neighbor, then I'd probably find him to be a tolerable human being. I doubt he's the type of guy I'd be good friends with, but I could probably see myself engaging in various small talk about the new car he just bought or what he was doing with his landscaping. Perhaps the "folksy cowboy" thing might have been an act, but at least it was an amiable act. If I somehow manage put aside the fact he needlessly plunged the Middle East into chaos and wrecked our economy (pretty tall order), there's essentially still a real human being there. A stupid human being, but a human being nonetheless.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, is a psychopathic narcissist. He's the type of person that regardless of what setting I'd see him, I'd avoid him at all costs. If I saw him at a party or some other social event, I'd avoid him like the plague because I don't want to get cornered by him and have to listen to him drone on endlessly about only him. He offends humanity in every single sense of the word. He's just a terrible, terrible, awful, and completely irredeemable human being.
I'll also point out that while Bush angered me and upset me and infuriated me while President, at no time did he really scare me. I knew he was going to do a lot of damage, but I never thought he'd completely destroy the country or its democratic institutions. And I knew that somehow, some way we'd get ourselves through it. And we did, thanks to President Obama.
I have no such assurances with Trump. I have no idea what sort of damage he'll do to this country, and I can't say for certain where we'll be in 2020, if we'll be a functioning democracy or not.
Trump just scares me.
Funny how you mention Cheney because I view both Trump and Cheney as evil. (Well, not pure evil because I don't believe there's such a thing as a purely evil person, but I do think there are people who are overwhelmed and completely consumed by evil motives.)
But Cheney's a smart evil, and as despicable as he is, you have to tip your hat to that kind of evil. Like Darth Vader, or a Bond Villain. They put a lot of effort into it, and there essentially a worthy adversary that demands to be taken on in a match of wits. That's the same way I view Putin as well.
Trump, on the other hand, is just dumb and evil. And no less destructive but there's not even anything fun about going up against him.
So bottom line is, as a human being, Donald Trump is the worst of the worst.