Trump rips George W. Bush after he calls for unity amid coronavirus outbreak

President Trump on Sunday took aim at George W. Bush after the former Republican president issued a call to push partisanship aside amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. 

In a three-minute video shared on Twitter on Saturday, Bush urged Americans to remember “how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat.”

“In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God,” Bush said. “We rise or fall together, and we are determined to rise.”

In an early morning tweet on Sunday, Trump called out Bush for his failure to support him as he faced an impeachment trial earlier this year over his alleged dealings with Ukraine. He cited apparent comments from Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, who asked why Bush didn’t push for “putting partisanship aside” amid the trial. 

“He was nowhere to be found in speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history,” Trump said. 

.@PeteHegseth “Oh bye the way, I appreciate the message from former President Bush, but where was he during Impeachment calling for putting partisanship aside.” @foxandfriends He was nowhere to be found in speaking up against the greatest Hoax in American history!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2020

The House impeached Trump last December for allegedly pressuring Ukraine to open an investigation into his Democratic political rivals. The president was acquitted by the Senate in February.

While Bush never commented publicly on the allegations and the trial, he and other members of his family have voiced criticism of the president and his policies. 

The former president released the video as confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, continued to rise in parts of the U.S. The country has confirmed more than 1.1 million COVID-19 cases and more than 66,000 deaths from it.

Bush invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in his message, noting that the U.S. has faced “times of testing before.” 

“Let’s remember that the suffering we experience as a nation does not fall evenly. In the days to come, it will be especially important to care in practical ways for the elderly, the ill and the unemployed,” he said. 

Trump has faced continued scrutiny for his early response to the outbreak. The president in February suggested the virus would suddenly “disappear” and later predicted that everyone who needed a test would have access to one. He’s repeatedly pushed back against concerns from governors about testing and medical equipment shortages. 

–This report was updated at 10:19 a.m.