They never mentioned Trump's name, but in the past week, two former presidents began building the case for Donald Trump as a growing problem for American democracy. "We've seen nationalism distorted into nativism," George W. Bush lamented in a speech in New York. "Bigotry seems emboldened." Barack Obama, appearing the same day in Virginia, likewise denounced "the politics of division", offering a frustrated reminder that "it's the 21st century, not the 19th century. Come on!". Read more of USSC research associate Dr Nicole Hemmer's latest op-ed for The Age.
Election Watch 202424 October 2017
Former presidents need to abandon tradition and weigh into Trump debate
![george-w-bush.jpg](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ooh1fq7e/production/b0a237e2dfa08762086672654cf9ddd2fb04696a-1197x673.jpg/george-w-bush.jpg?rect=1,0,1196,673&w=320&h=180&fit=min&auto=format)
Commentary by
![Nicole Hemmer.jpg](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ooh1fq7e/production/e247a0f10eaf332e1a077956a7330821487a8da7-1311x1748.jpg/Nicole%20Hemmer.jpg?rect=36,0,1240,1748&w=320&h=451&fit=min&auto=format)
Dr Nicole Hemmer
Honorary AssociateUnited States Studies Centre