Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and George Bush sat down with Jenna Bush Hager over the weekend in Philadelphia.
It was part of an event hosted by the History Channel.
And these four failed Presidents told Americans to stop complaining and stop being so angry.
The Club Nobody Voted For
The History Channel hosted something called "History Talks" in Philadelphia this weekend.
Clinton, Obama, Bush, and Biden sat down with Jenna Bush Hager – yes, George W.'s daughter – and delivered unity messages ahead of America's 250th birthday this July.
It was the fourth time in recent memory these men have gathered to tell you to stop being so angry.
They did the same thing in January 2021, standing at Arlington National Cemetery recording a video for Biden's inauguration special hosted by Tom Hanks.
Unity. Cooperation. Healing. Same words. Different backdrop.
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The pattern is simple: when a Democrat wins, they gather to celebrate the transfer of power. When a Republican wins, three of the four spend four years undermining him.
Not one of them mentioned Trump's name this week.
They didn't have to.
The audience knew who they were talking about.
What Each of Them Actually Built
Clinton went first.
"Don't give up on America," he said. "We're the longest-lasting, freely elected government in history."
Clinton, 79, signed NAFTA in 1994.
He gave China permanent normal trade relations in 2000.
Those two decisions sent more American manufacturing jobs overseas than any policy in modern history.
The factory towns of Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania that emptied out in the 2000s – the communities that handed Trump his 2016 victory – were hollowed out by Bill Clinton's trade agenda.
But sure. Don't give up.
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Obama told Jenna Bush Hager that America will have "another 250-year run" if citizens "extend respect and thoughtfulness to your fellow citizens, even if you disagree with them."
Obama, 64, spent his presidency calling the Tea Party racists, telling small-business owners "you didn't build that," and using the IRS to target conservative nonprofits.
His administration weaponized the DOJ, the FBI, and the intelligence community against the incoming Trump administration in 2016 and 2017.
Respect and thoughtfulness.
Bush told his daughter to "be a citizen, not a spectator."
Bush 43 gave America the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA, two wars that cost nearly 7,000 American lives and trillions of dollars, and a financial crisis that wiped out middle-class savings in 2008.
His advice: participate in the process.
Then Biden.
Biden, 83, said Americans "are not nearly as divided as we're being portrayed."
Three years ago, Biden stood in front of that same Philadelphia building and called MAGA Republicans "a threat to this country" at a prime-time address that aired with blood-red lighting behind him and uniformed Marines flanking the entrance.
Tucker Carlson called it a "blood-red Nazi background" live on Fox News.
Kayleigh McEnany called it "a hellish red background."
Trump called it the most divisive speech ever delivered by an American president.
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Now Biden says we're not divided.
They Built the Division They're Complaining About
Here is what none of them said in Philadelphia.
None of them mentioned the $36 trillion national debt they helped build.
None of them mentioned the millions of illegal immigrants who crossed under Biden, or the fentanyl that killed over 100,000 Americans a year while they managed the border crisis with press conferences.
None of them mentioned the cities their party has run for fifty years – Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, San Francisco – where crime and homelessness have turned American communities into places their own donors won't visit after dark.
And none of them mentioned the man actually cleaning it up.
Trump is the one planning the 250th anniversary celebration.
Trump is the one who ended the border chaos, rebuilt enforcement, and is running the strongest deportation operation in American history.
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Trump is the one who didn't start a new war.
The four men in Philadelphia weren't celebrating America's birthday.
They were auditioning for their legacies.
They chose the building where the Founders risked everything – men who put their names on a document that meant death if the revolution failed – to deliver a message about attitude adjustment.
The Founders deserved better.
America turns 250 this July.
That's worth celebrating.
Just not with them.
Sources:
- Judy Kurtz, "Former presidents share messages ahead of nation's 250th birthday," The Hill, April 20, 2026.
- "Bush, Clinton, Obama and Biden Share Messages of Hope Ahead of America's 250th Anniversary," NBC Philadelphia, April 20, 2026.
- "Republicans Mock 'Demagogic' Biden Speech on Threats to Democracy With 'Blood Red Lighting Backdrop,'" Fox News, September 2, 2022.
- "Biden Shocks Viewers With 'Hellish Red Background' for Polarizing Speech," Fox News, September 2, 2022.
- "Former Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton Urge Unity and Peaceful Transition of Power in Inauguration Day Message," CBS News, January 21, 2021.