Former President George W. Bush spoke at the September 11 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on Saturday, marking the 20th anniversary of the devastating attacks.
In his speech, the Republican compared 9/11 terrorists to domestic extremists, which many prominent liberal and Democratic figures on social media enthusiastically welcomed.
According to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Glenn Greenwald, the fact that Democrats now agree with Bush — who they once strongly disapproved of and viewed as a terrible leader — shows just how unhinged and authoritarian they’ve become.
Read more below.
Here’s What Bush Said
In his speech, Bush warned of domestic terrorism as a major threat, saying that "we have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within," according to ABC News.
"There’s little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard of human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them."
Greenwald’s Response
In a Twitter thread, Greenwald noted that prominent liberals — from former President Bill Clinton, over commentator Keith Olbermann to author Michael Beschloss — swooned over Bush as he delivered his speech.
"Liberals swooned emotionally all day yesterday for George W. Bush because they crave his War on Terror, but just want it unleashed domestically at their political opponents," Greenwald wrote.
"Hearing Bush link 9/11 with 1/6, and compare his War on Terror with their new one, was ecstasy for them," he added.
Bush Was Far Worse Than Trump, Greenwald Says
Greenwald argued that Bush was far worse than former President Donald Trump.
"Any liberal or Democrat heaping even limited praise on George Bush, after spending 5 years depicting Trump as some kind of Hitler figure is a total fraud, given that — by every liberal metric — Bush/Cheney war far, far worse than anything Trump did," Greenwald said.
"Having the US Government treat the American Right the same way as it spent the last 20 years treating alleged ‘Muslim extremists’ is — along with more censorship of the internet — one of the top political priorities of US liberalism, whose authoritarianism cannot be overstated."
Democrats Love Bush Now, Polls Show
Bush left the White House in 2009 as a deeply unpopular figure, with what was at that point the lowest approval rating in presidential history.
Democrats and liberals in particular strongly disapproved of Bush, especially his foreign policy adventurism and irresponsible fiscal policies.
But everything changed when Trump came along, with many Democrats moving right and Bush’s popularity surging.
In February 2009, just 11 percent of Democrats held a favorable view of Bush. In a 2018 CNN poll, 54 percent of Democrats said they view him favorably.
