Former President George W. Bush delivered an optimistic Veterans Day message to Americans, urging them to “stay positive” and that better days will come as global wars seem only to worsen.
“My advice is to stay positive because if you study world history or US history, we go through cycles of being down,” the 43rd President told Fox News Friday.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, and the newer conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas only appears to intensify, the former Commander-in-Chief wants Americans “to realize how blessed we are to live in this country” despite the challenges many are facing at home and abroad.
“Yeah, the images are grim — and yes, there’s violence. But ultimately, love overcomes hate,” he told the outlet while hosting his institute’s annual Warrior Ride at the Bush family’s Crawford ranch in Texas.
The ex-POTUS acknowledged his message about love may come off as “corny” and that the world and nation may be going through dark times, but he remains “optimistic” because he knows it will “happen.”
“I think if everybody would give each other a hug instead of yelling at each other, the world would be a lot better off,” he told the outlet.
The former president has strongly condemned the attacks by Hamas Terrorists on Oct. 7 on Israel, which has ignited the war in Gaza and growing instability in the Middle East.
“The George W. Bush Institute strongly condemns the heinous terrorist attacks on Israel that claimed scores of innocent civilians,” his institute wrote in an address on the day of the attack.
Bush urged “the United States and our allies to stand unequivocally with Israel, its government and people, and support Israel’s right to defend itself against these threats.”
“Attacks on free and democratic states anywhere are attacks on all of us, whether in Israel, Ukraine, or elsewhere,” he added.
Bush is no stranger when it comes to dealing with war.
During his eight-year stint in the Oval Office, Bush’s leadership was thrust into the spotlight less than a year after he took office when America was attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, which sparked the global war on terror.
As president, he launched the US invasion of Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda and capture Osama bin Laden following 9/11.
Bush, a Veteran himself who served as a first lieutenant in the US Air National Guard from 1968 to 1974 during the Vietnam War, was hosting the ninth annual ride for American heroes across 43 miles.
“Veterans Day is important,” he explained. “I try to symbolize that by hanging out with veterans.”
He explained that “riding mountain bikes with veterans is really fun” and that the veterans who served, some of whom under his administration, were “good people.”
“These men and women have been injured,” Bush said of many veterans who joined him on Friday.
“Rather than sitting around and feeling sorry for themselves, they decided, in this case, to use mountain biking as a way to recover.”
