Donald Trump gets dragged after using the same George H.W. Bush quote he once mocked in tribute

Donald Trump's previous words haunt him as he uses a line he once ridiculed in his recent tribute to George H.W. Bush.

Donald Trump paid tribute to the late George H.W. Bush with kind words but he also shed light on a glaring irony in his message. He used a famous quote from Bush’s speech which he mocked during a campaign rally earlier this year.

THE ANIMOSITY BETWEEN TRUMP AND BUSH

It’s no secret that Trump and Bush have had their differences. Trump has a history of tweets attacking the Bush family including the late president. In 2015, he wrote,

“The last thing we need is another Bush in the White House. Would be the same old thing (remember “read my lips, no more taxes). GREATNESS!”

Months later, he reiterated his point and took things further.

“The last thing our country needs is another BUSH! Dumb as a rock!”

Though both are Republicans, their similarities end there. In fact, Bush admitted he never liked Trump. He told Mark Updegrove in May 2016 “I don’t know much about him, but I know he’s a blowhard. And I’m not too excited about him being a leader.” This prompted his decision to vote for Hilary Clinton during the presidential elections two years ago.

“So far removed is Donald Trump's conception of not just politics and public service but the broader idea of who we are and what we should be as a country from the vision embodied in George H.W. Bush that our current President can't even grasp what his predecessor is talking about.”

TRUMP'S TRIBUTE TO BUSH

However, in the midst of their animosity, Bush’s death on November 30 inspired Trump to honor him with praises. In a statement he released while in Buenos Aires for an international summit, Trump said,

“With sound judgement, common sense, and unflappable leadership, President Bush guided our Nation, and the world, to a peaceful and victorious conclusion of the Cold War,” Trump’s statement added. “As President, he set the stage for the decades of prosperity that have followed. And through all that he accomplished, he remained humble, following the quiet call to service that gave him a clear sense of direction.”

THE IRONY OF TRUMP'S TRIBUTE

But what caught the attention of many was the quote from Bush which he used in his statement. An all-too-familiar line he once ridiculed while campaigning a few months back.

“Through his essential authenticity, disarming wit, and unwavering commitment to faith, family, and country, President Bush inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service — to be, in his words, ‘a thousand points of light’ illuminating the greatness, hope, and opportunity of America to the world.”

The phrase “a thousand points of light” was a line he mocked during a rally in Montana in July.

“You know all of the rhetoric you see. ‘Thousands points of light.’ What the hell was that, by the way?”

He added,

“Thousand points of light. What does that mean? I know one thing: Make America Great Again we understand. Putting America first we understand. Thousand points of light, I never quite got that one. What the hell is that? Has anyone ever figured that one out? It was put out by a Republican, wasn’t it?”

TRUMP GETS DRAGGED

Following Trump’s tribute, publications drew attention to its irony and dragged the president for his unlikely choice of quote, a slogan he once famously mocked.

This also encouraged comparisons between Trump and the late president. CNN wrote,

“Trump's presidency has been, at nearly every turn, a rejection of the way in which George H.W. Bush envisioned how elected officials should think, speak and act.”

It adds,

“Whereas H.W. Bush believed in the idea of America as a beacon of moral leadership in the world, Trump often seems to act solely from the perspective of financial interests.”

As for the slogan that Trump never seemed to grasp, the publication had this to say.

“So far removed is Donald Trump's conception of not just politics and public service but the broader idea of who we are and what we should be as a country from the vision embodied in George H.W. Bush that our current President can't even grasp what his predecessor is talking about.”

REMEMBERING BUSH AFTER HIS DEATH

Bush died on Friday in his home in Houston. His cause of death was not revealed but he’d been in and out of the hospital since his wife Barbara Bush’s death in April. His son and another former president, George W. Bush confirmed his death in a statement that also paid tribute to his life.

“George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for,” he wrote, among others."

Bush served as president for one term from 1989 To 1993. The White House flag is currently lowered at half-staff until his funeral on December 5 which Trump also declared as a day of national mourning.