Ahead of America’s 250th anniversary this summer, former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton each shared a message about what they value about the country and how it can emerge from a difficult era.
“The fact that you can speak in the public square without being jailed. The fact that we have a press that’s willing to hold the powerful to account,” Bush said in an interview with NBC News, referring to the First Amendment. “I mean, these are all things that should and generally do unite us.”
He voiced optimism about the future of the country, citing historical “periods of intense anger and intense rivalry of ideas.”
Asked what message he has for Americans, Obama pointedly noted: “We don’t have rulers, we don’t have kings or monarchs or aristocracies, we have citizens.”
He called it “the basic principle upon which this country was founded,” while exhorting Americans to “extend respect and thoughtfulness to our fellow citizens, even if we disagree with ‘em” and “sort through our differences in peaceful, legal ways.”
“If we understand that part of this democratic project is to — then I’m confident that we’re gonna have another 250-year run that’s gonna be just as good,” Obama said.
The former presidents spoke in Philadelphia with Bush's daughter Jenna Bush Hager of “TODAY” at a private event over the weekend called “History Talks,” hosted by the History Channel.
The event, which traditionally features former presidents, was held in partnership with Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal.
The comments from the former presidents come at a time when polls show deep divisions along political lines and widespread fears among Americans about threats to democracy during President Donald Trump's second term.
“America is bigger than anybody’s personal hopes and dreams,” Clinton said while discussing a supportive letter from President George H.W. Bush to the 42nd president after Clinton defeated him in 1992.
Biden said national divisions are not as bad as perceived.
“I’m not sure we’re as divided as we portray,” Biden said. “I’m sure there’s anywhere from 15-30% of the people who are on the one end here.”
“The idea that a kid from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who’s — we weren’t poor, but where a middle-class guy could, you know, who used to have a stutter, could end up being president of the United States is just kind of a story of what America’s all about,” Biden said.
Obama, who broke barriers as the country’s first Black president, said “the country’s polarized and there’s been a decline in trust.”
But he still feels hope for the future.
“The first time I was on the national stage and I talked about hope, I reminded people hope is not blind optimism; hope arises in the face of difficulty, in the face of uncertainty,” Obama said. “When you look at the sweep of American history, we’ve gone through rough patches. And we tend to come out on the other side of them stronger.”
