UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas _ Former President George W. Bush waded into the political fray Tuesday morning while discussing trade and economic prosperity after a divisive presidential election.
Bush, speaking at the George W. Bush Institute to members of the North American Strategy for Competitiveness, said he didn't want to criticize his successors but wanted to promote policies important to him and his Dallas-based institute.
"Policy really matters to me a lot," he said. "I'm pretty much out of the political world. I'm interested in politics, but I don't think it's helpful to have the former president of the country criticize successors. It's a hard job to begin with."
Bush's comments came a week after Donald Trump's surprising election victory. The president-elect campaigned on a pledge of ripping up the North American Free Trade Agreement and killing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is designed to lower trade barriers between the U.S. and 11 other countries, excluding China. Trump's stance broke with traditional Republican support of free global trade.
Bush, the most recent Republican president, didn't acknowledge Trump by name, but said he recognized that voters "were sick and tired of the status quo."
"But one of the things that is important for people who are frustrated and angry (to know) is that in order to close the wage gap, for example, trade is beneficial," he said. "Trade shows a confidence in our workers and in our businesspeople, because trade really means we are willing to compete."
Bush said "anger shouldn't drive policy."
"What should drive policy is what is best for people who are angry," he said.
Regarding NAFTA, Bush recalled going to the Rio Grande Valley as a child and said it was like "a Third World country on both sides of the border."
"I would urge people to go down to the border now and see how transformed the border is," he said. "There is a thriving middle class on both sides of the Rio Grande river. It is in our interest for our country that that be the case."
Bush said the nation is at an interesting time in its history and could choose to build on its strengths _ or not.
"Our group here believes we ought to build on the strengths. A strength for our respective countries is the willingness to work together: Canada, Mexico and the United States," he said.
While many have questioned whether Trump would follow through with his plans on trade, on Tuesday, CNN obtained a Trump transition memo that showed trade reform was a top priority.
According to CNN, Trump could begin altering NAFTA his first day in office.
After Bush's remarks, his institute's economic growth program released rankings for countries and trading blocs within its North America Competitiveness Scorecard.
The online tool, which measures the competitiveness of North American countries against other countries and trade blocs, such as the European Union, was launched last year. It uses data _ from the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, The Wall Street Journal, the Heritage Foundation and the Fraser Institute in Canada _ on subjects such as economic freedom and access to higher education.
Along with the new rankings, the institute's economic program released policy recommendations.
