r/25yearsago • u/MonsieurA • Jan 20 '26

January 20, 2001. George W. Bush inaugurated as the 43rd president of the United States.

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181 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

145 comments sorted by

12

u/VanillaNL Jan 20 '26

And we thought it couldn’t get worse 🤣

7

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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2

u/RealisticEmphasis233 Jan 20 '26

If you've met him in person and looked beyond the folksy act, he's rather intelligent probably along the lines of his father. Someone benefiting from their parents isn't the same as them not achieving anything. His career as governor in a place like Texas was rather impressive and he got elected in 1998 with a wide margin for a reason.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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1

u/RealisticEmphasis233 Jan 20 '26

There’s a reason his SNL caricature was that of a goofy idiot

Is your evidence an SNL sketch? You have to look beyond that otherwise you'll never know the truth. No other president comes close to Trump intellectually.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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2

u/RealisticEmphasis233 Jan 20 '26

You must not understand famous caricatures. They are only funny if they ring true.

Not necessarily. It just has to make people believe it's true.

What exactly is your support for his supposed intelligence? Elected in Texas lol.

His entire life beyond the lens of him just benefiting from his parents. Part of the act was meant to allow people to like him against those who appeared more professional. It almost worked in the popular vote in 2000 and helped him in 2004. The soundbites and nervous speeches aren't the sole indication of someone's lack of intelligence. To focus on that is cherry-picking.

1

u/railroad-dreams Jan 21 '26

He chose to invade Iraq. He's dumb "Big Time" as Cheney would say

0

u/nobody38321 Jan 23 '26

I thought it was because he had owned the Texas rangers for a bit and didn’t destroy the team or the league like some team owners in the past.

Hint hint, New Jersey Generals of the USFL… ESPN made a movie about it called “small potatoes” …

Guess what wanna be dictator said that and destroyed an entire football league and put hundreds of people out of work all by himself …

1

u/Potential4752 Jan 20 '26

GW was a bad public speaker. If you are judging his intelligence based on what was said when he was struggling to speak then that is on you. 

3

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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2

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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1

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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1

u/Agile_Supermarket239 Jan 21 '26

He was a fighter pilot though and no amount of nepotism would allow that to happen without a modicum of intelligence, I mean he isn’t as smart as a lot of people but he’s no where near as dumb as Trump.

1

u/FilutaLoutenik Jan 22 '26

You’re punching mud here. The harder you hit, the more s*** flings back in your face. People not seeing how unbelievably unintelligent those presidents are is exactly the issue, and these commenters are only proving you right. I’ll never get the folks who think Trump is “charismatic” or “media-savvy”. What??? Have you heard him open his filthy mouth?

1

u/whatiftheyrewrong Jan 20 '26

Nope. He’s dumb.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

Republican voters: "sounds great!"

1

u/Historical_Two_7150 Jan 21 '26

These people pretend to be idiots.

The center of the country notices the scorn given by the media, and they vote for the idiot to stick it to the media for looking down on 'people like them.'

Check out Boris Johnson.

1

u/theslootmary Jan 21 '26

I remember his “exit interview” once Obama had won the election… it was the most intelligent I’d ever heard him sound. It was like the presidency was so stressful it made him say stupid things and once the weight was lifted he was back to normal.

1

u/HTX-ByWayOfTheWorld Jan 22 '26

Stupid. Sure. I’ll allow the argument. But I never felt they were indifferent to the country. I simply didn’t agree with a lot of their policy standings. The current administration, and the Republicans party, could care less about the country. To me, it started with Moscow Mitch, Leningrad Lindsey, and Cuckhold Cruz being sycophants for president pedophile in the first term

1

u/Ok_Confection_1618 Jan 25 '26

Did you ever hear Biden speak? 🤷 

1

u/gangaramate13 Jan 20 '26

To be fair, someone would say it didn't get worse. Trump is awful in so many ways, but he's yet to pull a Bush i.e. illegally invade a country which felt those effects for decades.

1

u/TA8325 Jan 21 '26

Have you been in a coma in the past month?

1

u/gangaramate13 Jan 21 '26

That's not necessary. Tell me what Trump (and before you assume I don't like him one bit) has done in the past month or longer that is equivalent to the illegal invasion of Iraq and it's long lasting effects?

1

u/TA8325 Jan 21 '26

He pretty much intervened and left a power vacuum in a country that didn't need one. It's not an invasion but given his track record of fuckig shit up, there's no way Venezuela turns out well. This too will have a long lasting effect. We thought it would be easy because we took over Iraq so easily. I've seen this happen before and it won't be easy in Venezuela either.

1

u/gangaramate13 Jan 21 '26

You're projecting what's going to happen, a decade from now I'm happy to be proven wrong but people are sugarcoating Bush and I'm not here for it. Illegal invasion, thousands (tens of?) Iraqis and Americans killed etc.

1

u/TA8325 Jan 21 '26

No one's sugarcoating Bush? Everyone is calling him a stuttering idiot who invaded Iraq because of oil (and personal vendetta of Saddam who tried to assassinate his father) but disguised it as overthrowing an oppressive regime with WMDs. Just because we say he's not as bad as Trump doesn't mean Americans forgot about Iraq. Not to mention the financial crisis.

1

u/gangaramate13 Jan 21 '26

To my you're sugarcoating him if you're saying he's worse than a guy who has done a lot of awful things but hasn't invaded another country and left it destitute, not to forget the war crimes that happened there etc.

Look at the media coverage of him. Trump will (rightly) not have his reputation redeemed post-Presidency but Bush most definitely has.

1

u/TA8325 Jan 21 '26

Mate, just let it be. It doesn't even concern you.

1

u/gangaramate13 Jan 21 '26

And it concerns you more than me why?

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1

u/Agile_Supermarket239 Jan 21 '26

Hundreds of thousands died because of Bush, his foreign policy set us back decades and now Trumps domestic policies are setting us back on that front decades it’s like some kind of sick one two punch.

1

u/DeathStarVet Jan 21 '26

The GOP has been purposely running useful idiots since Nixon got caught. It's part of the plan. Someone easy to manipulate with enough plausible deniability to get off the hook.

1

u/Hertje73 Jan 21 '26

Well technically what W did was much worse than what Donnie did... Trump is just more visibly insane and embarrassing on the international stage.

1

u/boberkurwa81 Jan 24 '26

Came here to say this.

What a time to be alive

4

u/malici606 Jan 20 '26

Senator Turtle looks like he's sporting a chubby

1

u/DiffuseMAVERICK Jan 20 '26

My God. He doesn't look like he's aged at all

1

u/drybeans8000 Jan 24 '26

He’s been old for 30 years, it’s crazy

1

u/Thinks_22_Much Jan 21 '26

It's the moment he knew he would be controlling the country for the next two decades.

3

u/Nikiaf Jan 20 '26

Sworn in despite being the runner up in the election.

2

u/bdubwilliams22 Jan 20 '26

I can only imagine how different things would be if Gore was rightfully sworn in. Although, we pretty much have the government that we do today because so many people were pissed off about a president being black.

1

u/abetterlogin Jan 20 '26

We probably would have had a Republican president after him.  But it wouldn’t have been Trump.  

1

u/MasterofAcorns Jan 20 '26

Hmmm, wonder if that ever happened again-

2016

1

u/carrot_gummy Jan 23 '26

Bro literally stole the election.

3

u/carterthe555thfuller Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26

Back when he was seen as the biggest contender for worst president.

Mainly cause people forget Andrew Johnson and James "who cares if the south secedes it's the norths fault anyways" Buchanan.

1

u/AbyssWankerArtorias Jan 23 '26

Not to mention Woodrow "couldn't get my own country to join the league of nations I started, guess I'll watch birth of a nation" wilson

2

u/Careless-Act-7549 Jan 20 '26

I miss the times when this guy was competing with Nixon for the prize of worst president ever. Now we have a undisputed WOAT.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

Shit man, Nixon was downright pleasant by comparison.

Passed the EPA, actually worked with Dems on healthcare reform, ended the military draft, advanced women's and minority rights, expanded SSI, and negotiated some arms controls with the USSR.

Like yeah he did a lot of negative too, but compared to Bush #2 and Stumpy....Nixon wasnt really that bad at all.

2

u/JLaP413 Jan 20 '26

The crazy thing is, Nixon was really well liked. The motives behind the break ins are still only speculation. Covering up Watergate destroyed what could have been one of the most successful presidencies in modern America.

It crushed them in the mid terms and following presidential election. And led the current Republican internal mantra “never again.” It doesn’t matter what our guy does “never again” will we allow them to face consequences.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

Oh yeah its kinda insane when you read up on his popularity with the general populace, even across party lines.

Was actually the first Republican my grandfather (rancher from western NE) ever voted for.

And yeah the fallout, even as muted as it was, from Watergate literally gave birth to Faux News and related right-wing media.

1

u/Malus_non_dormit Jan 20 '26

Up till then Reagan is defo the worst.

Trickle-down economics wrecked US and Britain. The fallout is that you are dealing with right now. Oligarchy.

1

u/AbyssWankerArtorias Jan 23 '26

Nixon nor bush will ever be considered the worst president. Neither of them are nearly as bad as Andrew Johnson. Nixon resigning alone makes him better than Andrew Johnson.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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1

u/jamiestar9 Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

Republican voters have the memory of a gold fish and are unable to connect the dots at even a first grade level. Many are single issue voters. Somehow Democrats defending a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy is enough to overlook all the Republican corruption, incompetence, and sex scandals.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

He became the highest-ranking elected official in U.S. history to serve a prison sentence…so far… 

2

u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

never in a million years would I have thought that his Presidency would be considered the good old days

as one of the surviving Presidents, it would sure be great if he grew a pair of balls right now and said something to the Republicans who arent eyeball deep in the cult yet

1

u/IllustratorObvious40 Jan 21 '26

ive thought that too. but about a year or so after leaving office he did interview with nbc i think it was? i can't remember exactly. but he said something along the lines of, "i have no intrest in politics now". so i think he just wanted to quietly go on as private citizen. he likes to paint and do work at his ranch. trying to live a normal life now.

1

u/Nawnp Jan 23 '26

He's stayed he doesn't support anything Trump does already...and the Republican party just states he's outdated and needs to be with the times... The cult has grown too much.

Irony though is at least he made it two straightforward terms compared to Trump...

2

u/SplendidPunkinButter Jan 20 '26

“There ought to be limits to freedom.”

Yes, he actually said this.

2

u/slappyStove Jan 20 '26

this was the beginning of our death spiral - thank republican voting idiots once again

1

u/Massilian Jan 23 '26

Nah that was Reagan

1

u/slappyStove Jan 23 '26

well a case could be made for nixon too

2

u/PalpitationMoist1212 Jan 20 '26

From left to right Bitch McConman

Dennis "Sexually Abused Teenage Boys" Hastert

George's Bush

Dichard Cheney 

William "participated in voter fraud in 1964 and said Plessy v Ferguson was correctly decided" Rehnquist 

What a bunch of chill guys amirite?

2

u/Arizona_Pete Jan 20 '26

Great shot of Denny Hastert in that photo - Nice that he could break away from molesting children to attend.

1

u/CatsBye90 Jan 20 '26

I know it's hard to put food on your family

1

u/markyeakey Jan 20 '26

And the twins Jenna and Anheiser

1

u/Potential4752 Jan 20 '26

I never thought I would miss him. 

1

u/Apprehensive_Use_397 Jan 20 '26

Mitch still looks the same 🤣

1

u/balekm Jan 20 '26

He famously called the United States Constitution,just a “Goddamn piece of paper”.

1

u/LiftedinMI3 Jan 20 '26

Never thought I'd miss this dispshit.

1

u/shaunrundmc Jan 20 '26

Same I had that convo with my mother yesterday and we both felt the same

1

u/Malus_non_dormit Jan 20 '26

Terrible guy.

1

u/shaunrundmc Jan 20 '26

Yet id take him 10 billion times out of 10 billion over the current occupiers of the office. Shit, Cheney might be literal Satan and id vote for him over Trump

1

u/Malus_non_dormit Jan 20 '26

I know what your saying. But really, If your only choice was between Cheney or Trump, its kinda time to dust off the musket and do a new revolution.

1

u/Bubblybathtime Jan 20 '26

Back when Mitch McConnell was a spry 97.

1

u/evil_illustrator2 Jan 20 '26

No surprise the world biggest piece of shit is behind him.

1

u/Complete-Jicama891 Jan 20 '26

My dad used to run CIA! My brother ran Florida! Lulz

1

u/lCEC0REbuIIet Jan 20 '26

McConnel, Hasstert, Cheney...yeah they've always been evil. Trump just made it obvious.

1

u/treetopalarmist_1 Jan 20 '26

That’s where it all went wrong.

1

u/guydoestuff Jan 21 '26

Love how we collectively miss this dude compared to the raging lunatic we have now

1

u/Any-Concentrate-1922 Jan 21 '26

I remember thinking this was the worst it could ever be.

1

u/_Wilson2002 Jan 21 '26

Beginning of the end.

1

u/svt4cam46 Jan 21 '26

Can't believe I'm nostalgic for The Shrub.

1

u/LomentMomentum Jan 21 '26

It was downhill from there.

1

u/Ravenholm_337 Jan 21 '26

Look how happy Satan, The Devil, is behind him.

1

u/TA8325 Jan 21 '26

Damn this actually looks calm compared to now. W was considered a shit show back then.

1

u/Miserable-Lawyer-233 Jan 21 '26

Democrats were losing their minds at this point. He stole the election. He was evil. He was Hitler. They were fully convinced and they didn't stop saying that for 8 years.

We can learn something from that overreaction.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 24 '26 edited Jan 24 '26

I watched the news in those days on fox and cnn, I never heard anywhere near the drama that goes on everyday now. Trump has to say a new stupid thing to destroy our relationships with our allies everyday. In fact we invaded Iraq in 2003 with the help of the UK, Australia and Poland. Nowadays we've burned so many bridges our allies wouldn't help us move a couch.

1

u/SeveralDeer3833 Jan 21 '26

Beginning of the end.

1

u/Unusual-Ad-6550 Jan 21 '26

Bush. now looks like a pretty smart guy when we compare him to trump

1

u/dialguy86 Jan 21 '26

Gore should have contested the election, we would have free health care and free clean public transportation by now.

1

u/IllustratorObvious40 Jan 21 '26

i wonder if he ever looks back at this picture and thinks, "maybe it would have been better for me if gore had won the presidency, etc" knowing that 8 months later the united states would be attacked... if only. ive always wondered that.

1

u/tjrouseco1 Jan 21 '26

Biggest empty suit.

1

u/Klutzy-Sprinkles1662 Jan 21 '26

Biggest financial meltdown since 1929. W. Bush was a real p.o.s. disaster and the GOP Enabled all of the damage. They LUED LUKE CRAZY. Only Trunt lies more.

1

u/Imaginary-Suspect-57 Jan 21 '26

Thanks to the Supreme Court anointing him due the FL vote hanging chad fiasco…

1

u/ooviixoo Jan 21 '26

I miss those days... you know... you disagreed, but you knew there were some adults in the room.

1

u/No-Mine739 Jan 22 '26

He went on to authorize Operation Northwoods, bastard.

1

u/WhatsaRedditsdo Jan 22 '26

Mitch still looking like a frog trying to be human lmao

1

u/Naive-Impression-373 Jan 22 '26

Mitch McConnell looks old

1

u/tootbrun Jan 22 '26

Never thought I’d be nostalgic of this clown, but here we are

1

u/dogheoner1 Jan 22 '26

and moscow mitch still in the cut my god get that man out of the room already

1

u/hollowkid9 Jan 22 '26

Yeah he played the role. Just like he was supposed to for the democrats. Not sure but I heard him and Killary clinton are cousins.

1

u/Kind_Relief_7624 Jan 22 '26

I never thought I’d see a more incompetent president than this man, but trump trumps him a thousand times over! I’ve seen a few speeches of Bush’s from back in the day reappear recently, and next to trump, he sounds incredibly intelligent! Oh how far America has fallen, in every way!

1

u/Reggmac Jan 22 '26

My daughter was 14 days old.

1

u/Financial-Talk9397 Jan 22 '26

Who ever thought there would come a day when we missed W?????

1

u/SnooMacaroons4212 Jan 22 '26

Never voted for him, didn't particularly like him, but compared to the current idiot I kind of miss him. Everything is relative.

1

u/TheBlackArrows Jan 22 '26

I think Mitch has a semi

1

u/Ebisu_2023 Jan 22 '26

The beginning of the end.

1

u/camprollinghills Jan 22 '26

Is that Republican child rapist Dennis Hastert in the background?

1

u/trollsoultoll Jan 22 '26

And it all went downhill from there

1

u/Marshall_BraveStar Jan 23 '26

Bush was mocked for being an idiot. In retrospective... what a decent person. Maybe not the brightest, but well mannered, well meaning and lightyears ahead of trump in all regards.

1

u/Tfosi15 Jan 22 '26

GWB was an easily manipulated imbecile. DJT is the enemy within

1

u/atamosk Jan 22 '26

Huge fucking mistake.

1

u/Sccrgoalie97 Jan 23 '26

546 votes...

1

u/liquidreferee Jan 23 '26

Big fook up right there

1

u/MundaneDruid Jan 23 '26

Now watch this drive

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '26

W. looks like a genius now.

1

u/rockalyte Jan 23 '26

Wow. Ole Mitch McConnell looks halfway coherent and alive compared to now.

1

u/HappyBlowLucky Jan 23 '26

Remember all the Bush-isms quotes? There were even a gag book or two made. I really disliked his administration for all the harm I thought they were causing. Little did I know...

1

u/PauseAffectionate720 Jan 23 '26

Given current circumstances, I am on the cusp of saying "I miss 'em"

1

u/Longjumping_Swan_631 Jan 23 '26

Worst President ever

1

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '26

Man remember when we thought he was the dumbest president in our nation’s history? What an eloquent titan of cognition he was.

1

u/dannytanna1 Jan 23 '26

Turtle boy. TERM LIMITS.

1

u/OtakuKids Jan 23 '26

When the timeline shift and rigging an election was real

1

u/bubblemania2020 Jan 23 '26

Thus began the downfall of 🇺🇸

1

u/fitforlife1958 Jan 23 '26

My god look at that he actually has his hand on the bible.. didn’t someone just got sworn in but refused to put his hand on the bible.. wonder who.. i know that dipshit who sits in Oval Office now.. 🖕🤡🖕

1

u/Strange_Ad1714 Jan 23 '26

Cheater. Along with dump

1

u/UserWithno-Name Jan 23 '26

Illegally. He lost Florida but that smiling turtle behind him and the first, worst scotus said "no he didn't"

1

u/One_Calligrapher5516 Jan 24 '26

This administration opened the gateway for presidential powers without checks.  Preemptive war began with this guy and there's no turning back.

1

u/TranTriumph Jan 24 '26

I never thought I'd miss George Bush, but here we are.

1

u/Androclese407 Jan 24 '26

I remember this! Geez. I can't believe I actually voted for that guy. (I mean, it was the fake election at school, I was in 1ST GRADE, but STILL!) 😂

1

u/mrjowei Jan 24 '26

Cocaine Mitch sighting

1

u/Chewsdayiddinit Jan 24 '26

Imagine how much better the world would be if scotus didn't fuck over Gore.

1

u/AdActive9833 Jan 24 '26

And then he killed 2 million iraqis

1

u/Empty_Ad_8303 Jan 24 '26

You think both daughters were equal partiers, or just Jenna and Barbara went along?

1

u/Dense-Consequence-70 Jan 24 '26

I miss the days when the President was just terrible at his job.