George H.W. Bush and son George W. Bush, the 41st and 43rd presidents of the U.S., have issued a joint statement condemning “hatred in all forms”:

“ ‘As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city’s most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights.’ ”

The statement — datelined Kennebunkport, Maine, where the family has had its summer home for generations — adds that the Bushes know the principles enshrined by Thomas Jefferson’s authorship of that document arev “everlasting” because “we have seen the decency and greatness of our country.”