Former U.S. President George W. Bush comes up in the news with some frequency. He was trending on social media earlier this summer when he eulogized Rep. John Lewis. Then earlier this month, on the anniversary of 9/11, the liberal commenter Paul Krugman posted an ill-considered tweet in which he credited Bush with preventing a “mass outbreak of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence” following the terrorist attacks.
Every time Bush’s name surfaces like this, U.S. commentators in the press and social media have the same conversation. Centrists point out how presidential and responsible he is compared to President Donald Trump. Those on the left then claim that Bush’s administration in general, and his Iraq War record in particular, is being whitewashed. One common talking point is that Bush’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in more deaths than Trump’s coronavirus pandemic response.
