In the eight years since he left the nation’s highest office, President George W. Bush has maintained a relatively low profile. The Republican has focused on working with veterans and his painting, and rarely makes public statements.
Videos by Rare
RELATED: Former President George W. Bush opens up about Donald Trump’s first month as commander in chief
That all changed in recent days, as Bush has embarked on media tour to promote his new book, “Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors.” After stops on “TODAY” and “Hannity,” Bush spoke to PEOPLE about the current political climate. He categorized the vibe in President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C. as “pretty ugly.”
Without bringing up anyone’s name, Bush expressed disappointment at how people of different colors and creeds had interacted.
“I don’t like the racism and I don’t like the name-calling and I don’t like the people feeling alienated,” Bush said. “Nobody likes that.”
The closest Bush came to critiquing the current president was when he was asked about President Trump’s immigration executive orders.
“Now that you mention it, it might bother me, but we’ll figure out how to bring them over,” he said.
Earlier in the week, Bush mentioned similar issues in an interview with Matt Lauer.