George Bush Won't Make Formal Election Endorsement, Office Says

Former President George W. Bush does not plan to formally endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, his office told multiple media outlets on Saturday.

George W. Bush, a Republican, does not plan to make an endorsement or voice how he or his wife Laura will vote in the presidential election in November, a spokesman said on Saturday.

"He retired from presidential politics many years ago," said the spokesman.

However, in 2012, Bush had backed then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Bush had also endorsed now-late Sen. John McCain in 2008.

According to reports, the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign declined to comment but noted the campaign's efforts to engage with Republicans.

In 2016, both former President George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush, decided not to comment on Trump, with the younger Bush focusing on supporting Republican senators instead. Neither Bush nor his wife voted for the major party presidential nominees that year, according to a spokesperson.

The elder Bush passed away in 2018, but in 2021, George W. Bush revealed that he wrote in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for president in the 2020 election.

Bush's decision not to endorse a candidate in this White House election comes just a day after his then-vice president, Dick Cheney, confirmed he would be voting for Vice President Harris.

Dick Cheney, 83, has a long history in the Republican Party, serving at different times as White House chief of staff, Defense secretary and vice president in the George W. Bush administration. He released an alarming statement Friday warning about the consequences of electing Trump again.

Meanwhile, Harris welcomed Cheney's support, telling reporters on Saturday that she was "honored."

She added, "And for them to step up and make this public statement, I think is courageous. For the people I've been talking with, it really reinforces that we love our country and that we have more in common than what divides us."

Earlier, Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a vocal critic of former President Trump, too had announced she is voting for Vice President Harris. Cheney, who sat on the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, announced her decision during an appearance at Duke University, according to multiple attendees who posted on social media.