Former President Bill Clinton has defended his successor George W. Bush for not endorsing him in the presidential election despite being pressured to endorse Kamala Harris.
Clinton, 78, said Bush is a “proud Republican” and would not want to “give up” the party to which he has dedicated his life by choosing a side.
Bush’s daughter Barbara’s campaign for Harris sparked calls for the former president to break his silence and repudiate Donald Trump.
But Bush, also 78, has chosen to stay on the sidelines when it comes to having his say at the top of the list.
He last endorsed John McCain in 2008 and has since avoided campaigning after his presidency.
In Texas he has shown his support for local Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, who is running for the Senate against Sen. Ted Cruz.
Clinton said Bush called Allred a “good guy” and congratulated him when he was first elected to Congress.
Former President Bill Clinton defended his successor George W. Bush for not endorsing him in the presidential election despite being pressured to endorse Kamala Harris.
But that was behind the scenes, and Bush has since been much more restrained toward any public endorsement.
“First of all, I think he’s talked more than he gets credit for, and he takes every opportunity I’ve seen to talk about how important immigration is and how we can’t survive without it,” Clinton said. cnn Bush on Sunday.
“He also knows that, starting with our relationship, it is very different when you are outside of political life, when there is no competition and no consequences,” Clinton added.
“And I think he believes that since he was a proud Republican all those years, it’s enough for him to make clear what he believes in all of this, without giving up on the party he’s been in all his life.”
Clinton, 78, said Bush is a “proud Republican” and would not want to “give up” the party to which he has dedicated his life by choosing a side.
Bush watches before the first game of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on October 27, 2023 in Arlington, Texas.
Liz Cheney, daughter of Bush’s former vice president Dick Cheney, had already supported Harris, along with her father.
In September this year, a spokesperson for Bush told DailyMail.com that he had no plans to make any public endorsement.
“He retired from presidential politics many years ago,” they said, adding that neither Bush nor his wife Laura would reveal who they will vote for in November.
Former Republican representative turned Harris ally Liz Cheney urged Bush to drop the fence last week.
His former communications director, Nicolle Wallace, also came out and told him WSNBC He hopes Bush will “change his mind” and take a stance against Trump.
He said: “We have a right to hope that those who have defended freedom and celebrated those who have protected it may have a last-minute change of heart in the final hours of this campaign.”
Even though Bush supported her mother, her daughter Barbara told People, “It was inspiring to join friends and meet Harris campaign voters in Pennsylvania this weekend.”
“I am hopeful that they will move our country forward and protect women’s rights.”
It was a discreet gesture, but it still made her the last person identified with the pre-Trump Republican Party to throw her support behind the Democratic candidate.
The activist is no stranger to campaigning, although she maintains a low public profile.
He spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2004 and campaigned for his father’s re-election in swing states.
Her twin sister, Jenna, previously spoke out about the personal toll politics takes when Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election.
“We’ve become such a politically divided country that sometimes it’s hard to think, ‘Oh my God, he’s a human being,'” Jenna told the Today show.
“I just hope that we can get back as a country to a place where we think, ‘Oh yeah, he’s a human being and this must have been a really difficult decision,’ and one that his family probably helped, supported, but is also sad. and that’s understandable,”
It was a discreet gesture, but it still made her the last person identified with the pre-Trump Republican Party to throw her support behind the Democratic candidate.
Both Cheneys are former House Republican leaders, and the elder Cheney served two terms as George W. Bush’s Republican vice president from 2001 to 2009.
The former president is seen here with his wife Laura and daughters Jenna and Barbara.
The registered Republican called his decision “admirable” and said Biden had to make “a difficult decision because many one-term presidents don’t feel like the job was done.”
Trump continually mocked George Bush’s younger brother Jeb, his sister’s uncle, during his successful 2016 campaign.
He has called his father’s two terms “a failed and uninspiring presidency” while essentially taking over the party where the Bush dynasty dominated for years.
Trump also lashed out at Dick Cheney, while calling his daughter Liz Cheney, who is campaigning for Harris, a “warmonger.”
“Her father was responsible for invading the Middle East, killing millions of Arabs – millions – and this is who Kamala is campaigning with,” Trump said.
Speaking Thursday night at an event with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump sparked outrage after calling Liz Cheney a “dumb war hawk.”
He said: ‘She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels firing at her, okay, let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when guns are pointed in his face.
“She’s a radical war hawk,” Trump began before speculating about a possible firing squad.
Democrats immediately criticized him for the comment, but Harris went a step further and said Trump should no longer be in the presidential race.
He told reporters: “Anyone who wants to be president of the United States and uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president.”
Harris called Cheney “a true patriot who has shown extraordinary courage in putting country above party.”
‘Trump, however, considers his political opponents as enemies and is constantly seeking revenge and is increasingly unstable and unhinged. His list of enemies has gotten longer.
“His rhetoric has become more extreme and he is even less focused than before on the needs, concerns and challenges facing the American people,” Harris added.
The Democratic candidates said she has not spoken to Cheney since Trump’s comment.
Trump has long been a critic of Cheney, who criticized him for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection and was one of two Republican lawmakers who served on the House committee that investigated it.
In March, Trump called for Cheney to be jailed for her role in the investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Cheney should “go to jail along with the rest” of the Jan. 6 House select committee.