As prominent figures in the U.S. Republican Party turn to support Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in this year's presidential election, former President George W. Bush, a Republican, has stated that he does not plan to officially endorse any candidate.
According to NBC and other U.S. media on the 8th (local time), a representative from former President Bush's office said the day before that the Bush couple has no intention of publicly revealing whom they will vote for. They added, "Former President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago."
This stance comes after Dick Cheney, who served as vice president during the George W. Bush administration and is also a Republican, distanced himself from former President Donald Trump and expressed support for Vice President Harris. Earlier, on the 6th, Liz Cheney, former federal House Representative and daughter of former Vice President Cheney, said at an event in Austin, Texas, that her father would vote for Vice President Harris.
Former Representative Cheney said, "Considering the situation we are in, you will realize how serious it is now," adding, "My father has publicly stated that no one has been as threatening to American democracy as Donald Trump." Former Vice President Cheney is a figure representing the U.S. 'neoconservatives' and was strongly criticized by the progressive camp during his tenure. Earlier, his daughter, former Representative Cheney, also announced on the 4th that she would vote for Vice President Harris.
He said, "As a conservative, someone who believes in and cherishes the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger Donald Trump poses, I will not only refrain from voting for Donald Trump but will vote for Kamala Harris."
George W. Bush, who served from January 2001 to January 2009, is the son of George H. Bush, who was U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. The Bush family is also known to have had a poor relationship with former President Trump.
Former President Bush has refrained from making public critical remarks about former President Trump but did not attend the Republican National Convention last month, where Trump was nominated as the presidential candidate. Previously, Bush supported the late John McCain, the Republican candidate in the 2008 presidential election, and Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential election.
In January 2021, former President Bush criticized the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who refused to accept the election results, calling it "reckless behavior that sends chills down my spine" and stating, "Challenging election results in this way is not something that happens in a democratic republic but only in a banana republic."
Meanwhile, 238 aides who worked under former Presidents George H. Bush and George W. Bush, former Senator John McCain, and Senator Mitt Romney also issued a public letter on the 26th of last month expressing their support for Vice President Harris.
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