George W. Bush

Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary, compared Donald Trump posing in front of St. John's Church with a bible to Churchill inspecting bombing damages during WWII in a press statement on Wednesday.

"Through all of time, we've seen presidents and leaders across the world who have had leadership moments and very powerful symbols that were important for a nation to see at any given time to show a message of resilience and determination. Like Churchill, we saw him inspecting the bombing damage, it sent a powerful message of leadership to the British people, and George W. Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch after 9/11.", she said and added: "And for this president it was powerful and important to send a message that the, rioters, the looters, the anarchists — they will not prevail — that burning churches are not what America is about. And that moment, holding the Bible up, is something that has been widely hailed by Franklin Graham and others, and it was a very important symbol to see that we will get through this, through unity and through faith."

Former President George W. Bush issued a statement on bushcenter.org regarding the death of George Floyd. Though not mentioning the action of the current administration, Bush wrote: "Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. [...] It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country."

The statement further reads: "Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions. We know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction is not progress. But we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice."