Bajillionth Horseman of the Apocalypse? George Bush Is on Substack

Democracy continues to barrel its way down through the gutters, and to make matters worse, we’re now looking to the guy who once started a war based on a big, fat lie for some answers. This has to be some horseman of the apocalypse, but which? We’ve lost count.

On Monday, George W. Bush—known to many as a good friend of Ellen Degeneres; known to more as Dick Cheney’s puppet; and known to most as the should-be war criminal that once tricked the nation into invading Iraq in 2003—created his own Substack (under the handle @georgewbush, as @warmonger123 was taken) to inaugurate “In Pursuit,” a new essay series celebrating 250 years of American independence. Each week will focus on a different president and first lady, specifically a lesson they could each teach us about democracy and leadership. 

Bush’s piece, “George Washington by George W. Bush,” is framed as a Presidents (slash Valentines) Day tribute to America’s OG. In it, No. 43 admires No.1’s “exceptional” life, his path to “greatness,” and how important it was that he knew when to step away from power. The lesson here, Bush argues, is that “for a leader, humility is the ultimate strength.” He does dedicate an entire paragraph to Washington’s “faults,” dancing around the fact that he made some tactical military mishaps before adding that “slavery is a stain on [his] otherwise sterling private and public life.” Carry on!

“Our first president could have remained all-powerful, but twice he chose not to,” writes Bush. “George Washington’s humility in giving up power willingly remains among the most consequential decisions and important examples in American politics.” He later repeats, “By once again relinquishing power rather than holding on to it, he ensured America wouldn’t become a monarchy, or worse.” I mean, I much prefer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s spin, but no matter.

Bush never names Trump, but since his successor continues to openly drool over staying past his two-term limit, it’s pretty obvious what he’s actually trying to say. And honestly, I don’t understand why not just fucking say it at this point: If democracy is dead, we can probably get rid of insinuation, too. 

Speaking of, over the weekend, Trump threatened on Truth Social to push through voter ID demands for the midterms “with or without Congress.” In March, he said there are “methods” he could use to run for a third term, and told reporters in October he’d “love” to stay through 2028; throughout it all, continuing to float plans and propose bills that could fundamentally alter how women and minorities vote. Seems like, at this point, a former president could just come out and say, “cut the shit.”

Alongside Bush’s Ode to George was a piece about Martha Washington by Karin Wulf, and how “before women could hold office, she created one.”

“While the term ‘First Lady’ was not regularly used for a century after her service, she felt the weight of its responsibility and the eyes of the new nation upon her,” Wulf writes. Again, she might have just written that Melania Trump’s Jeff Bezos-produced blockbuster could have paid the salaries of every person fired by the Washington Post earlier this month, three times over. 

Dr. Colleen Shogan, who created this new Substack to pump up our past presidents, stressed to the New York Times that the “In Pursuit” essays will not be partisan, adding that it is supported by More Perfect, a bipartisan initiative dedicated to American democracy that’s got the participation of 43 presidential centers; and that there will be no essays or contributions from Trump or Joe Biden. Sounds good. Still ironic that Bush—whose refusal to confront climate change and global economic fallout both haunt us today—kicked it off. When democracy is in such dire straits that we have to look to a war criminal to give us lessons about civil liberties and freedom, the apocalypse is truly nigh. 

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