Bush: GOP today is 'nativist'

Former President George W. Bush admitted Tuesday that the current iteration of the Republican Party is not what he "envisioned" when he left office more than a decade ago.

During an interview on NBC's Today, Hoda Kotb asked Bush how he would describe the GOP now. He replied that he believes it's "isolationist, protectionist, and, to a certain extent, nativist," and while he didn't sound pleased to acknowledge that, he said he's "just an old guy they put out to pasture," suggesting his opinion doesn't have much sway, either way. Bush did say he thinks a more moderate candidate has a chance to earn the party's nomination in 2024, however.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, some of Bush's critics weighed in on the comments, with Business Insider's John Haltiwanger questioning his self-awareness. Haltiwanger argued that there's a "direct line" between Bush's GOP and the current version led by former President Donald Trump, the connection largely driven by the war on terror. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.