The five remaining former US Presidents left politics aside and met last night for the first time since 2013 at a fund-raising concert to support victims of the devastating hurricanes that struck Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Democrats Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as Republicans George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush gathered on stage in the city of College Station, Texas, home to Texas A & M University in an effort to unite the country after the storms.
Texas A & M is home to the presidential library of Bush Sr.. At age 93, the former president suffers from a form of Parkinson’s disease and presented himself to the event in a wheelchair. His wife Barbara and George W. Bush, Laura Bush, were seated at the hearing.
Lady Gaga, who won a Grammy Award, made a surprise appearance at the concert, which also featured the country music band Alabama, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer “Soul Man” Sam Moore, the legend of the gospel music Yolanda Adams and the Texan musicians Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen.
The Expressionist concert has raised $31 million since it began Sept. 7, said Jim McGrath, a spokesman for George H. W. Bush.
Hours earlier, President Donald Trump recorded a video greeting in which he did not mention the criticism he had issued against the former commanders and called them “some of the best public servants in the United States.”
“This wonderful effort reminds us that we truly are a nation before God, all united by our values and dedication to each other,” Trump said in his message.
Four of the five voters, Obama, George W. Bush, Carter and Clinton, made brief comments that did not mention Trump. Bush Sr. did not speak, but he smiled and greeted the crowd.
The former leaders called for national unity to help those affected by the hurricanes.
“The heart of the United States, regardless of race, religion or political party, is bigger than our problems,” Clinton said.
The last time the five were together was in 2013, when Obama was still the president, at the opening ceremony of George W. Bush’s presidential library in Dallas.
“It’s certainly a triple, if not a homer, every time” they gather, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston.
“Presidents have the most powerful and prolific foundation of any politician in the world. When they make an appeal for help, especially in something that is not political, they can raise large sums of money.”
Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 25. With winds of category 4, it generated a historical flood in Houston and the death of more than 80 people.
Subsequently, Hurricane Irma hit Florida and Hurricane Maria caused damage in Puerto Rico. In addition, both affected the US Virgin Islands.
