Former President George W. Bush will not be publicly endorsing a candidate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election, his office confirmed to NBC News.
“No,” the office responded when asked if either Bush or former First Lady Laura Bush would make a public endorsement. “President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago.”
This comes just a day after former Vice President Dick Cheney made headlines by announcing his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, breaking with his party to oppose the Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
Trump fired back on Truth Social, calling Cheney “an irrelevant RINO,” (Republican In Name Only).
Harris, in a statement to reporters, expressed gratitude for Cheney’s support.
“[It] reinforces for them that we love our country, and we have more in common than what separates,” the statement read.
While Bush’s office cited his retirement from presidential politics, the former president has a history of endorsing Republican candidates, including John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. However, his stance on presidential politics seemingly shifted with the rise of Donald Trump in 2016, whom Bush largely avoided commenting on.
In 2016, the Bush office stated that neither he nor Laura Bush voted for either major party candidate. After Trump’s failed re-election bid in 2020, Bush revealed he had written in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the presidency.
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