George W. Bush comes out of retirement to throw shade at Trump as he denounces 'bullying and prejudice' in politics and praises the value of immigration

George W. Bush hinted Thursday at his dissatisfaction with Donald Trump, complaining in a New York City speech that 'bullying and prejudice' has become a caustic norm in American public life.

At an event hosted by the George W. Bush Institute, the 43rd U.S. president rattled off a thinly veiled litany of complaints about the current commander-in-chief, focusing on both his tone and his isolationist policy choices.

'Our young people need positive role models,' he said. 'Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, and compromises the moral education of children.'

Trump's tenure has been marked by a seemingly endless stream of outraged posts on his Twitter account and a dramatic political polarization among U.S. voters.+4

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Bush's shade was unmistakable, including Trump-oriented shots at 'bullying' and praise for the value of immigrants

Bush also slapped in Trump's direction with a reference to Trump's controversial statements following an August race riot in Charlottesville, Virginia that left an anti-racist protester dead in the wake of a white supremacist march.

At the time, Trump claimed that there had been violence on 'both sides,' drawing howls of protest that he was legitimizing the Ku Klux Klan.

Bush never mentioned Trump's name or the Charlottesville scandal, but drew his only mid-speech applause by saying that 'people of every race, religion and ethnicity can be fully and equally American.

'It means that bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the american creed.'