Link to Article: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/living-presidents-attend-texas-hurricane-relief-concert-50630060
On Saturday, the 5 former U.S. presidents came together at a concert in Texas to raise funds for victims of the tragic hurricanes. Despite battling Parkinson’s disease and having to rely on a wheelchair, at age 93 Mr. Bush attended the concert, showing his support and sympathy towards those affected. According to George H.W. Bush’s spokesman, the president's’ raised $31 million.
When the former presidents had the opportunity to speak, not one of them made any comments regarding Donald Trump or any other political issue. All politics aside, these 5 men simply came together in efforts to unite the country and reveal that, “the heart of America… is greater than our problems” (Hillary Clinton).
Overall, there seems to be a sharp distinction between how former presidents dealt with national tragedies versus how Trump has been handling the issues recently. Is Trump doing a good-enough job dealing with such issues? What are your reactions to the 5 former president's actions?
11 comments:
It was actually Bill Clinton who said, "The heart of America, without regard to race or religion or political party, is greater than our problems."
I'm really happy that this event didn't get political. I don't believe that we should be silent about the bad things that President Trump is doing, but that doesn't mean we need to talk about him all the time -- sometimes we need to worry about other things.
I think that the actions of the five former presidents were very admirable and like Michael said, I'm glad they focused on uniting the country rather than bringing up politics. I think that Trump could take a message from them and focus more on bringing people together rather than making everything political. For example, he should have shown sympathy and support for Puerto Rico, rather than bringing up politics and criticizing its leaders.
I think its refreshing how all five former presidents set aside the politics and unite for the cause. Goes to show how there is no need to put the blame on anyone or get political in order to rally people up for a good cause, which is something President Trump could take note of. He needs to learn how to deal with these issues without condemning others and praising himself for doing the right thing.
I think it is especially powerful to see these five presidents come together because they come from both political parties and share extremely different views and opinions on many of the issues facing American today. It is powerful to see that despite their differences, important public political figures can still come together. This is especially refreshing in our current state of extreme division world.
I think this event was also an amazing reminder of what a president should be. None of these men currently hold the office of president, and cannot pass any executive orders or make any high level decisions, but they still stood before our nation to unite us together. I think that this is actually one of the most important offices of the president. I think Trump could learn from these former presidents, and work harder to create unity in our nation, and extend a helping hand to those in need.
I thought it was nice how the former presidents came together to both show and provide support for the hurricane victims. In a time of tragedy now, it’s important to step away from the politics and just focus on supporting the victims because support is what the victims need right now. Because of that, it is important that they know that people and the country are with them.
I think the presidents' actions are very commendable as they took the respectful time to raise money for a very dire cause. The fact that they neglected to bring in politics is also very honorary and should be the standard for such relief-related events. The time should always knowingly and respectfully be allotted to honoring the tragedy of lives lost and ruined. I think Trump does what he thinks he should when responding to crises such as these but unfortunately tends to speak before he thinks, which gives rise to most of his controversial and contentious statements.
Although Trump has responded to many of the hurricanes (Harvey and the hurricane affecting Puerto Rico, for example), many say that he was ineffective in providing fast and expansive care. He has expressed a degree of reluctance in helping Puerto Rico, which is a point that has been highly criticized in the media and antics such as his towel tossing have been parodied. Trump has been providing care, yet, like Christina said, politics and criticism should come second to the natural disaster. I also believe that the 5 presidents' actions were admirable. They left out politics and were very pleasant during this appearance. What they did was a show of unity more important that money raised during this event as the message would undoubtedly help more and show that America was willing to help.
It is nice to hear that past presidents are still making a difference. This unity shows that it is possible for both parties to work together and make a difference. It is a shame that our current president hasn't been able to step up to the plate.
I am happy and proud to hear that the former presidents are able to overcome their political differences despite the increasing tensions and polarization between political parties and come together to help those in need. I think Trump has also been helping the hurricane victims, but this event is especially touching and I hope that Trump can learn from this.
I was very pleased to see that all the presidents set aside their differences and unified together for a greater cause in terms of showing support for the victims. I think Trump did his part to support the victims, but he could have prevented much damage had it have been in a quick notice. He waited too long in my opinion. I'm happy that this unity didn't stream into politics because at this point the people need to know that we have each other's backs. Taking political differences out of the question was a mature thing to do.
I admire the five former presidents for stepping up, without expressing any political opinions, purely out of the good in their hearts, uniting to raise money for the victims of the hurricane. Despite of their former political stances, they were able to put aside differences for a similar cause. I believe this is inspiring in the sense that there are other people who will step up to help the process or initiate the process and there is no over reliance on one person. I believe Trump should follow this example.
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