george bush speechwriter

My Friend, Mike Gerson

A beautiful writer with an even more beautiful soul

In the mid-1990s, I was the policy director of Empower America, a think tank whose co-directors were Jack Kemp, William Bennett, and Jeane Kirkpatrick. A colleague told me that there was a person writing speeches for Jack he thought I might like to meet. He introduced me to Michael J. Gerson. Mike and I bonded immediately. Ours was an acquaintance that quickly grew into a friendship that soon became one of the most cherished relationships of my life.

Mike Gerson died early yesterday morning of cancer. He was 58 years old.

Mike was one of the most gifted writers of his generation, a presidential speechwriter for George W. Bush who became a twice-weekly columnist for The Washington Post . He wrote on politics and faith, movies and books, the Queen of England , his beloved dogs , his first bout with cancer , and dropping his son off at college . Mike loved words, and he wrote like an angel. It was a way to express the longings and loves of his heart.

The best speeches Mike worked on with George W. Bush were his efforts to call forth our better selves, to right wrongs and dispense comfort, and to strive for justice.

Here are the words from President Bush’s speech at National Cathedral three days after the attacks on 9/11: “We learn in tragedy that His purposes are not always our own. Yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral, are known and heard, and understood. There are prayers that help us last through the day, or endure the night. There are prayers of friends and strangers that give us strength for the journey. And there are prayers that yield our will to a will greater than our own.” There was also this: “This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die and all who mourn.”

Mike was an instrument of mercy, a key figure in the Bush administration’s 2003 effort to provide AIDS treatment and prevention to Africans on a massive scale. At an Oval Office meeting the year before, as the details of the ambitious and controversial plan were being discussed—controversial because previous efforts had accomplished little, there were infrastructure challenges to overcome, and the cost of the program was enormous—President Bush asked people for their views. He turned to Mike last.

“If we can do this, and we don’t,” Mike said, “it will be a source of shame.” To which Bush responded, “That’s Gerson being Gerson!” And so it was. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was the largest commitment ever made by any nation to address a single disease. Mark Dybul, a brilliant NIH researcher who crafted the plan, says that nearly 20 years later, PEPFAR has saved 20 million lives, prevented millions of new infections, and changed the course of the epidemic.

“Mike was one of the most vocal and effective advocates for PEPFAR—and later, the president’s malaria initiative,” Dybul told me. “From the Oval Office meeting that led to the president’s decision, to constantly pushing to keep global health front and center on the agenda, to providing the public words that helped drive policy and funding, Mike spoke the president’s language of the heart and of faith that was central to the success of PEPFAR.”

Over the course of our friendship, I came to understand how essential faith was to Mike. He attended Wheaton College, the flagship evangelical school in America. He had been accepted at Fuller Theological Seminary for graduate studies, but Chuck Colson, then president of Prison Fellowship, hired Mike right out of college to write for him. That brought Mike to Washington, D.C., and changed the trajectory of his life, but not the outworking of his faith. He believed that politics, at its best, could advance justice.

Peter Wehner: The evangelical Church is breaking apart

Mike’s views reflected what he called a “Christian anthropology”—a belief in the inherent rights and dignity of every human life. It led him to solidarity with the weak and the suffering, the dispossessed, those living in the shadows of life. His faith was capacious and generous; it created in him a deep commitment to justice and the common good.

Mike was appalled at those who disfigured Jesus and used their faith for the purposes of dehumanization. It is one of the reasons why he was so thankful to publish an extraordinary essay in the Post before his death, lamenting Christians whose view of politics “is closer to ‘Game of Thrones’ than to the Beatitudes.”

Mike told me how moved he was by the comments and emails “from ex-believers saying the article helped them rediscover why they once believed.” When I asked him what he found most encouraging about the response, he told me, “All the people who find the Jesus of the Gospels so appealing.”

Very few people knew the full scope of the health challenges Mike faced. He suffered a heart attack in 2004, when he was 40. Kidney cancer in 2013. Debilitating leg pain, probably the result of surgical nerve damage. The kidney cancer spread to his lungs. Then Parkinson’s disease and metastatic adrenal cancer. And finally, metastatic bone cancer in multiple locations, intensely painful. At one point he told me he was on 20 different medications. Mike and I joked that of all the figures in the Bible he could model himself after, he chose Job. Yet through it all—and this is simply remarkable—I never saw any self-pity. Mike referred to himself as “an instinctual Calvinist,” a person not prone to ask “why me?” He bore up under the hardship and pain with astonishing grace and dignity.

From the April 2018 issue: The last temptation

In a 2019 sermon at National Cathedral, he revealed that he had been hospitalized for depression, a condition he had struggled with since his 20s. He was raw, honest, and vulnerable in describing its effects. He said that at times he had reached the breaking point but didn’t break, fortunate to have the right medicine and the right medical care and the right friends “who run into the burning building of your life to rescue you.”

“Over time,” Mike said, “you begin to see hints and glimmers of a larger world outside the prison of your sadness. The conscious mind takes hold of some shred of beauty or love. And then more shreds, until you begin to think maybe, just maybe, there is something better on the far side of despair.” I heard from other friends, who also suffer from depression, how meaningful they found Mike’s words to be.

In the last months of his life, Mike told me that the pain was sometimes so distracting that he couldn’t write, but then we would move to other topics. I have pages of notes from my final conversations with him, as we spoke mostly about faith and theology. He gave me a book, and recommended others.

In the last weeks of Mike’s life, his wife, Dawn, and sons, Bucky and Nick, were faithfully by his side. His two brothers were able to spend time with him; so were close friends, all of whom were able to express their appreciation and love for Mike. The common theme from Mike was gratitude. He spoke about how grateful he was for the life he was able to lead and for the people who loved him and were able to travel his journey with him. He was in pain, but he was at peace.

I was planning on seeing him one Sunday morning in late September, but he had to cancel. He wrote me afterward, simply saying, “Sorry about today. Slept most of morning. A little down. Want to be an example to my sons. But hard to be in extreme pain, which eventually comes with bone cancer.”

Mike Gerson was a beautiful writer with an even more beautiful soul. He lived a wonderful and consequential life. “You have been a voice for Jesus,” one friend, Jack Oliver, wrote to Mike as he neared the end. “Your homecoming will be amazing.” He hadn’t just been an example for his sons; he was an example for us all.

Mike is now with the Lord he loved and served so well. But oh, how I miss my friend.

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Michael J. Gerson, Presidential Speechwriter and Columnist, Dies at 58

He composed many of George W. Bush’s signature addresses, and later, as a writer for The Washington Post, took a stand against Donald J. Trump.

By Clay Risen

Michael J. Gerson, who as George W. Bush’s chief speechwriter and one of his closest advisers composed many of the president’s signature addresses and wielded outsize influence on his domestic and foreign policies, and who later, as a regular columnist at The Washington Post, became a sharp critic of the Trump administration, died on Thursday in Washington. He was 58.

Peter Wehner, a close friend and former colleague, said the death, at a hospital, was caused by complications of kidney cancer.

Like President Bush, Mr. Gerson was an unabashed evangelical Christian who believed in the importance of faith in public life. And while the two men could not have been more different — Mr. Gerson was cerebral, reserved and fidgety; Mr. Bush was folksy, outgoing and relaxed — they shared an almost psychic connection, especially when it came to putting their shared values into words.

Rather than trying to bury Mr. Bush’s casual vocal mannerisms under flowery phrases, Mr. Gerson yoked them with concise, plain language, peppered with alliteration and religious references.

He wrote major speeches well ahead of time, often escaping the bustle of the White House to write in a nearby Starbucks.

“People were in Washington passing by this guy who looks like a graduate student at George Washington, frantically scribbling on a pad and a pencil, and have no idea that he’s crafting words that will change the course of history,” Karl Rove, another of Mr. Bush’s closest advisers, said in a phone interview.

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Michael Gerson, Washington Post Columnist and Former George W. Bush Speechwriter, Dies at 58

Known for his speeches for Bush on 9/11, Gerson died at a Washington, D.C. hospital early Thursday

Michael Gerson, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and an op-ed columnist for the Washington Post, has died. The news came early Thursday out of a Washington, D.C.-area hospital. He was 58 years old.

Peter Wehner, a longtime friend and former colleague of Gerson, told the Post that the cause of death was complications of cancer. Gerson was diagnosed with slow-growing kidney cancer in 2013.

The political writer joined the Bush campaign in 1999. During his tenure as a Bush speechwriter, Gerson helped shape the former president’s messaging in the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Notable phrases coined by Gerson include “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” “the armies of compassion” and the “axis of Evil.” In 2006, Gerson left the Bush administration to pursue other writing and policy work.

He later joined the Post in 2007, where he wrote twice weekly columns about conservative politics and faith.

Gerson is survived by his wife, Dawn Soon Miller, two sons, Michael and Nicholas, and two brothers.

The Washington Post first reported the news.

Full transcript: Former President George W. Bush speaks at 9/11 memorial ceremony

Bush honored the lives lost on United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Former President George W. Bush spoke at the Sept. 11 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks Saturday.

The memorial commemorates the crash of United Flight 93, one of four commercial airplanes hijacked in the September 11 attacks. The plane crashed into a field after passengers fought with and overcame the hijackers. All aboard, including 40 crew and passengers, perished.

Bush, who was in office at the time, reflected on the bravery of those passengers and the unity and heroism that took place in the days after the attacks, while warning about the lingering threat of terrorism, both foreign and domestic.

He was joined by former First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and others.

MORE: 9/11 20 years live updates: Former presidents joined Biden to honor lives lost

The transcript of Bush's speech was as follows. It has been edited for clarity:

Thank you all. Thank you very much. Laura and I are honored to be with you, Madam Vice President, Vice President Cheney, Gov. Wolf, Secretary Haaland, and distinguished guests.

Twenty years ago, we all found, in different ways, in different places, but all at the same moment, that our lives would be changed forever.

The world was loud with carnage and sirens, and then quiet with missing voices that would never be heard again. These lives remain precious to our country and infinitely precious to many of you. Today, we remember your loss, we share your sorrow and we honor the men and women that you have loved so long and so well.

For those too young to recall that clear September day, it is hard to describe the mix of feelings we experienced. There was horror at the scale of destruction and awe at the bravery and kindness that rose to meet it. There was shock at the audacity of evil and gratitude for the heroism and decency that opposed it.

In the sacrifice of first responders and the mutual aid of strangers, in the solidarity of grief and grace, the actions of an enemy revealed the spirit of the people. And we were proud of our wounded nation.

In these memories, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 must always have an honored place. Here, the intended targets became the instruments of rescue, and many who are now alive owe a vast, unconscious debt to the defiance displayed in the skies above this field.

It would be a mistake to idealize the experience of those terrible events. All that many people could initially see was the brute randomness of death. All that many could feel was unearned suffering. All that many could hear was God's terrible silence. There are many who still struggle with the lonely pain that cuts deep within.

In those fateful hours, we learned other lessons as well. We saw that Americans were vulnerable, but not fragile. That they possessed a core of strength that survives the worst that life can bring. We learned that bravery is more common than we imagined, emerging with sudden splendor in the face of death. We vividly felt how every hour with our loved ones was a temporary and holy gift. And we found that even the longest days end.

MORE: Video Remembering 40 people killed in Shanksville

Many of us have tried to make spiritual sense of these events. There is no simple explanation for the mix of providence and human will that sets the direction of our lives. But comfort can come from a different sort of knowledge. After wandering in the dark, many have found they were actually walking step by step toward grace.

As a nation our adjustments have been profound. Many Americans struggled to understand why an enemy would hate us with such zeal. The security measures incorporated into our lives are both sources of comfort and reminders of our vulnerability. And we have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within.

There's little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard of human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them.

After 9/11, millions of brave Americans stepped forward and volunteered to serve in the armed forces. The military measures taken over the last 20 years to pursue dangers at their source have led to debate. But one thing is certain: We owe an assurance to all those who have fought our nation’s most recent battles.

Let me speak directly to veterans and people in uniform. The cause you pursued at the call of duty is the noblest America has to offer. You have shielded your fellow citizens from danger. You have defended the beliefs of your country and advanced the rights of the downtrodden. You have been the face of hope and mercy in dark places. You have been a force for good in the world. Nothing that has followed -- nothing -- can tarnish your honor or diminish your accomplishments. To you and the honored dead, our country is forever grateful.

In the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks, I was proud to lead an amazing, resilient united people. When it comes to the unity of American people, those days seem distant from our own. Malign force seems at work in our common life that turns every disagreement into an argument and every argument into a clash of cultures. So much of our politics has become a naked appeal to anger, fear and resentment. That leaves us worried about our nation and our future together. I come without explanations or solutions. I can only tell you what I've seen.

MORE: PHOTOS: Remembering 9/11

On America's day of trial and grief I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor's hand and rally to the cause of one another. That is the America I know. At a time when religious bigotry might have flowed freely, I saw Americans reject prejudice and embrace people of Muslim faith. That is the nation I know. At a time when nativism could have stirred hatred and violence against people perceived as outsiders, I saw Americans reaffirm their welcome to immigrants and refugees. That is the nation I know. At a time when some viewed the rising generation as individualistic and decadent, I saw young people embrace an ethic of service and rise to selfless action. That is the nation I know.

This is not mere nostalgia, it is the truest version of ourselves. It is what we have been, and what we can be again. Twenty years ago, terrorists chose a random group of Americans on a routine flight to be collateral damage in a spectacular act of terror. The 33 passengers and seven crew of Flight 93 could have been any group of citizens selected by fate. In a sense, they stood in for us all.

The terrorists soon discovered that a random group of Americans is an exceptional group of people, facing an impossible circumstance. They comforted their loved ones by phone, braced each other for action and defeated the designs of evil.

These Americans were brave, strong and united in ways that shocked the terrorists but should not surprise any of us. This is the nation we know. And whenever we need hope and inspiration, we can look to the skies and remember. God bless.

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Inside Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson’s relationship with George W Bush as famed speechwriter dies at 58

• G.P. Rodriguez
• Published : 11:25 ET, Nov 17 2022
• Updated : 14:36 ET, Nov 17 2022

MICHAEL Gerson, who has died on Thursday at the age of 58, was one of the voices that helped craft former President George W Bush's rhetoric during some of the nation's pivotal moments.

The conservative speechwriter and Washington Post columnist passed away in Washington, D.C., due to complications with cancer, the paper reported.

Reacting to the news on Thursday, Bush said he was "heartbroken."

“He was a great writer, and I was fortunate he served as my chief speechwriter and a trusted advisor for many years,” Bush said.

“His brilliant mind was enhanced by his big heart. As a result, Mike harnessed the power of the pen to not just write about good policy, but drive it.”

Gerson gained national notoriety after he joined Bush's campaign in 1999. The two shared an evangelical Christian background, with Gerson infusing the former president's speeches with religion and morality themes.

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He worked on the Bush's first inauguratal speech, and also the one following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The famous Bush speech included the poignant phrase by Gerson: "[Our] responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.”

Gerson was behind the famous line where Bush pledged to end “the soft bigotry of low expectations” in the education of minority and low-income students.

He was also Bush's speechwriter during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, helping convince the public to support it.

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Following his time at  the White House until 2006, he moved to The Post, where he wrote about politics and  faith  in twice-weekly columns.

Gerson is the  author  of Heroic Conservatism (2007) and co-author of City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era (2010).

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While writing for The Post, he was open with readers about his ongoing struggles with  depression .

In one of his February 2019 columns, Gerson  wrote : “I have no doubt that I will eventually repeat the cycle of depression, but now I have some self-knowledge that can’t be taken away. I know that — when I’m in my right mind — I choose hope.”

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Former George H.W. Bush Speechwriter on Why the President Was Shy About Talking About His World War II Service in Public

I joined the Bush-Quayle presidential campaign in the summer of 1988 when I was 25, writing something called the “line of the day”—a one-page memo of catchy facts, stats, anecdotes on whatever the topic of the day was. Once we arrived at the White House, I began ghostwriting magazine articles by the President. I would send him questionnaires through intraoffice mail and he’d handwrite his answers. It was like having a pen pal. I worked my way up to doing more junior speechwriting stuff, like the turkey pardoning and statements of congratulations to spelling-bee winners. The more I wrote for him, the more I learned his style. He didn’t like to talk about himself much. If we used the word “I” too much he’d circle it, to mean “too many.” He felt that in a democracy the President should use the word “We.”

That’s probably why he was generally extremely reticent to talk about his World War II experience.

The most memorable speechwriting experience I had with him was writing a speech to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1991.

One night at about 6 o’clock in the Oval Office, before the anniversary, we started talking about what his memories were of the day he heard about Pearl Harbor. Despite his father’s objections, he went to sign up for the Navy and got turned away because he was only 17. He showed back up on June 9, 1942, a few days before his 18th birthday and enlisted, becoming the youngest Navy pilot at the time.

Pearl Harbor had a huge effect on his life. Though he flew 58 combat missions, he bristled at being called a war hero. He thought the war heroes were the ones who didn’t come home. He told me about all of the buddies he had lost, the circumstances of their deaths, and him having to write to their parents. But every time he would tell me one of these stories, I’d say, “That’s an amazing story! Can I put that in the speech?” And he’d say, “Oh, God no! You can’t use that. I’m just telling you that.” And he wouldn’t let me use any of it! I pleaded, “Sir, give me something here!” I think he knew he would get very emotional while talking about it, and he didn’t want that to happen.

So we ended up deciding that the message of the speech I was working on, one of four speeches given that day, was to convey to his fellow veterans that it was time to bury the hatchet with Japan. One of his first acts as President was to attend the funeral of Emperor Hirohito — the same emperor who was on the throne when Bush’s plane got shot down over the Japanese island of Chichi Jima on Sept. 2, 1944; he survived but his two crewman died. The President thought it was important to send the message to all of the veterans of Pearl Harbor who were still alive that he did not bear any grudge against the Emperor because of his own personal experiences during the war. He had forgiven the Japanese, and it was time for them to as well. It was a uniquely appropriate speech for George Bush to give having survived being shot down.

I would make the argument that survivor’s guilt was what motivated him to public service and to build his amazing career. He wanted to show that his life was in gratitude for surviving and to repay his colleagues who didn’t make it. He wanted to make his life worthy of their sacrifices. And he did. What a remarkable life he led.

As told to Olivia B. Waxman as part of a presidential-history partnership between TIME History and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. Mary Kate Cary is a former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush’s administration and a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center.

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Write to Mary Kate Cary at [email protected]

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George H.W. Bush Was A Man In The Middle, Says Former Speechwriter

Rachel Martin talks to Andrew Ferguson, ex-speechwriter for the former president and now with The Weekly Standard , about how the Bush presidency impacted the identity of the Republican Party.

Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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‘Brave, kind, and modest’: Senior speechwriter remembers George H. W. Bush

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Curt Smith is a senior lecturer in the Department of English. He was a speechwriter for President George H. W. Bush in the White House from 1989 to 1993 and wrote more speeches for Bush than anyone else.

George Herbert Walker Bush was a son, husband, father, grandfather, pioneering businessman, global diplomat, forty-first President of the United States, Commander in Chief of a great liberation, war hero in America’s Greatest War, and last President of America’s Greatest Generation—and friend. He also embodied the way the world has historically seen America.

George Bush was brave, kind, and modest. He was generous, loyal, and honest. He knew sorrow—daughter Robin, dying at four, of leukemia; wife Barbara’s recent death. He also knew a lifetime’s joy of priorities: “family, faith, and friends.” His mother taught him to treat people equally—“Now, George,” she said, referencing the great hymn, “none of this ‘How Great Thou Art’ business.” Raised in an age of Tom Mix and Andy Hardy, he really did become The All-American Kid who lived the All-American Life.

President Bush said his three years in the Navy did more to shape his life than anything before or since. He was seventeen the day Pearl Harbor was attacked: December 7, 1941, a Sunday. Friends were among the 2,403 Americans who died. Next day he tried to enlist. Too young, he joined the day he turned eighteen—the Navy’s youngest aviator, almost dying when his plane was shot down. Many thought of that at Pearl’s half-century anniversary, in 1991, when President Bush courageously gave an emotional speech he feared he could not complete without breaking down.

“May God bless the United States,” he ended, whispering the words, “the most wondrous land on earth.”  For ninety-four years George H. W. Bush blessed the United States of America. May God bless him, and He will.

George W. Bush's top speechwriter is now calling for Trump's impeachment

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Another Republican has hopped on the impeachment train.

After the Mueller report detailed President Trump's failure to take what Michael Gerson calls "a criminal plot by a hostile foreign government" to the FBI, the chief speechwriter for former President George W. Bush writes that "House leaders should lay the groundwork for impeachment." This move strays from politics' usual goals of "partisanship" and "endless fundraising," Gerson continues in his Monday op-ed for The Washington Post, but adds that this choice will "echo across the decades."

As Gerson describes in the Post , Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report "shows that Trump and members of his campaign team were willing — actually, eager — to cooperate with Russian attempts to subvert a presidential election." Trump also "ordered subordinates to lie about their ties to the Russians," Gerson continues, going on to decry Attorney General William Barr for "provid[ing] cover for those deceptions." Yet Congress, Gerson writes, is "punting" its "responsibility" to hold Trump accountable for these actions. It's time for impeachment, Gerson finishes, because "the honor of the presidency now depends on the actions of Congress."

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Gerson has previously authored Post op-eds saying Trump is a "Russian stooge" and a "danger to democracy." But it ran just ahead of another Republican's call for impeachment , this one from former Trump transition staffer J.W. Verret, published Tuesday in The Atlantic . Verret was not a "Never Trumper," but opposed Trump on several policy points. And after reading the Mueller report twice, he reached a "tipping point" with Trump's leadership and said "Republicans in Congress" should have reached it too.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter .

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George W Bush reveals his decision on 2024 endorsement after Cheney snubbed Trump

Former president George W Bush will not make a presidential endorsement in the 2024 race for the White House , according to his office.

The 43rd president will not join his former vice president Dick Cheney , who said last week that he would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris over Republican Donald Trump .

Cheney’s daughter, leading Trump critic and former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney , has also called on fellow conservatives to vote for Harris in November.

Harris and running mate Tim Walz have courted Republicans who refuse to vote for Trump, with Harris saying in a CNN interview that she would consider appointing a Republican to her cabinet.

Bush’s office said on Saturday that neither he nor former First Lady Laura Bush would endorse a candidate or publicly share how they would vote, according to NBC News.

“President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago,” his office stated.

Bush attended Trump’s inauguration after his 2016 win over Hillary Clinton, and reportedly called his speech “some weird s***.”

A spokesperson after that election said that Bush and his wife did not vote for either Trump or Clinton.

He also refused to endorse Joe Biden or Trump in 2020 and told People that he wrote in Condoleezza Rice’s name. She was Bush’s Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009.

Harris and Trump are set to spar in their first debate in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. The highly anticipated debate will be hosted by ABC.

• George Bush won't endorse either Kamala Harris or Trump because...

George Bush won't endorse either Kamala Harris or Trump because...

About the Author

At TOI World Desk, our dedicated team of seasoned journalists and passionate writers tirelessly sifts through the vast tapestry of global events to bring you the latest news and diverse perspectives round the clock. With an unwavering commitment to accuracy, depth, and timeliness, we strive to keep you informed about the ever-evolving world, delivering a nuanced understanding of international affairs to our readers. Join us on a journey across continents as we unravel the stories that shape our interconnected world. Read More

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Former President George W. Bush does not plan to endorse a candidate for president, his office told NBC News on Saturday.

When asked whether the former president or his wife, Laura, would endorse a candidate or make public how they will vote, Bush's office said "no."

"President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago," the office added.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign declined to comment but pointed to the campaign's Republican outreach efforts.

Bush's former vice president, Dick Cheney, announced on Friday that he would back Harris in the November election.

"In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump," Cheney said in a statement. "He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again."

Days earlier, the former vice president's daughter, former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, said that she would cast her ballot for Harris. Both Cheneys, who are Republicans, have been critical of former President Donald Trump, and the younger Cheney has been especially outspoken.

Responding to reporters' questions on Saturday, Harris said that she was "honored" to have the Cheneys' endorsements, adding that it "really reinforces for them that we love our country, and we have more in common than what separates."

The fact that Bush is not endorsing his party's nominee is itself notable. In 2012, Bush said he was backing Republican candidate Mitt Romney against former President Barack Obama. Four years earlier, Bush endorsed the now-late Sen. John McCain for president in 2008.

Both former Bush presidents' teams said in 2016 that the father and son would avoid commenting on Trump. Instead, the younger Bush worked to support Republican senators. Neither Bush nor his wife voted for either major party presidential nominee in 2016, a spokesperson said that year .

The elder Bush president died in 2018, but the younger said in 2021 that he wrote in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for president in 2020.

Several prominent moderate Republicans and former Trump administration officials have broken with the former president and backed Harris, despite having policy differences.

The Harris campaign last month unveiled more than two dozen endorsements from Republicans, including former Republican Gov. Bill Weld of Massachusetts; former Rep. Denver Riggleman of Virginia; and former Trump administration press secretary Stephanie Grisham.

Later in August, more than 200 former staffers for both Bush presidents, McCain and Romney signed a letter endorsing Harris for president.

As part of the campaign's outreach to GOP voters, the Harris campaign hired a national Republican engagement director to focus on independent and moderate Republican voters, as well as a Republicans for Harris program.

Kelly O’Donnell is Senior White House correspondent for NBC News.

Megan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.