The president who still believes Americans belong to one another

Published May 28, 2026 2:00pm ET | Updated May 28, 2026 2:19pm ET



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When Jenna Bush Hager sat down in Philadelphia last month with the four living former presidents and asked each what message he had for Americans on the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary, three of them answered the question they had been asked. But one, George W. Bush, answered a different question entirely.

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