Overview
- Publishing on Presidents’ Day, Bush praised George Washington’s character and restraint in a roughly 1,500-word essay for the new In Pursuit series.
- Bush underscored that Washington twice surrendered power, writing that the first president “could have remained all-powerful, but twice he chose not to.”
- He framed humility as a core leadership virtue and said Washington “carried himself with dignity and self-restraint,” setting a lasting presidential standard.
- Bush acknowledged Washington’s moral failures, calling slavery “a stain” on an otherwise notable life and noting he was a lifelong slave owner.
- The essay drew wide coverage as an implicit critique of President Trump, while some conservative commentators faulted Bush for indirectness rather than direct condemnation; Trump is not listed among In Pursuit contributors, which include Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Chief Justice John Roberts.