Former President Bill Clinton sees a lot of good in America, but none of it has to do with the divisive rhetoric favoured by President Donald Trump.
Without mentioning Mr Trump by name, the former president penned an op-ed in the New York Times claiming that America has the building blocks to be great, and to improve. But, the sort of tribalism that Mr Trump has stoked has set the country on a different path.
“As a nation, we’re on a very different path,” Mr Clinton wrote, after arguing that there are proven methods of reducing economic inequality in the US that could drive up incomes and increase security.
“All too often, tribalism based on race religion, sexual identity and place of birth has replaced inclusive nationalism, in which you can be proud of your tribe and still embrace the larger American community,” he continued.
Mr Clinton went on to argue that the US needs to find a solution to its immigration problem, noting that the American birth rate has plunged, and is barely at replacement levels. The former president’s solution: Embrace the so-called Dreamers in the US.
The op-ed is a rebuke of much of what Mr Trump has built his political vision upon. Mr Trump, in his rise to the White House, repeatedly espoused rhetoric blaming immigrants and Muslims for Americas criminal and moral woes, while implying that white Americans aren’t getting a fair shake the way they used to.
Mr Clinton, in writing his op-ed, is participating in a somewhat rare rebuke of the sitting president by a former White House resident. In addition to Mr Clinton, former President Barack Obama has repeatedly spoken out with concern regarding Mr Trump’s actions or remarks.
