--- title: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Interview 2016 Campaign description: In an interview with TIME, the two former presidents reveal their views on the upcoming presidential campaign which could pit one's wife against another's brother. Plus, Bill Clinton defends his family's foundation, why Hillary Clinton never thought she'd be in politics and whether George W. Bush has designs on painting his predecessor's portrait canonical: https://time.com/3968132/bill-clinton-george-bush-interview/ author: Nancy Gibbs article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-23T10:00:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:16.579Z article:section: Politics og:title: Exclusive: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Talk Plan for 2016 og:description: In a rare joint interview, Bush and Clinton discuss how they view the world today and the upcoming campaign og:url: https://time.com/3968132/bill-clinton-george-bush-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42ca0565cc684d95/69885c1dcd1bbab7826fc666/bush-clinton-cover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2363 og:image:height: 1329 og:image:alt: George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton cover 150803 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Exclusive: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Talk Plan for 2016 twitter:description: In a rare joint interview, Bush and Clinton discuss how they view the world today and the upcoming campaign twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42ca0565cc684d95/69885c1dcd1bbab7826fc666/bush-clinton-cover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bill Clinton and George W. Bush's Plan for 2016 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=49892567-3f7d-4936-9297-601078a4a3b9&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years [Watch (HLS stream): See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3nRIB78f.m3u8) (2:37)  _Published 2015-06-12. From his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1994 through his decision to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, here are some of the top moments from Jeb Bush's political career._ by [Nancy Gibbs](https://time.com/author/nancy-gibbs/) and [Michael Duffy](https://time.com/author/michael-duffy/) Jul 23, 2015 10:00 AM UTC  Bush and Clinton in Dallas on July 9 Bush and Clinton in Dallas on July 9 Mark Seliger for TIME by [Nancy Gibbs](https://time.com/author/nancy-gibbs/) and [Michael Duffy](https://time.com/author/michael-duffy/) Jul 23, 2015 10:00 AM UTC In a rare joint interview for this week’s cover story, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton discuss how they will handle the 2016 race, one that could very well feature Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush competing against each other for the White House. One thing’s for sure about the upcoming election: it will be fun to watch the two alpha dogs of American politics try to muzzle themselves and sit on their paws. Here’s a peak at how the two baby boomer presidents view the world today and the upcoming campaign. [Read TIME’s cover story, “Game of Thrones: Inside the most surprising alliance in politics.”](http://time.com/3969265/bill-clinton-george-w-bush-and-the-american-game-of-thrones/) **George W. Bush and Bill Clinton’s plans for 2016**“I think most of my role will be giving advice if I’m asked for it,” Clinton told TIME about his position in wife Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “And I try not to even offer it at home unless I’m asked. But she’s been pretty good about asking every now and then.” “Look, this is highly complicated,” Clinton says of the the political environment. “People don’t like negative, divisive environments. But they frequently reward them in elections.” “It’s great that you can get 100 media outlets,” Clinton said, “but you have to devour each other and it puts even more pressure on people like you to turn us all into two-dimensional cartoons.” “I can’t tell you who is going to win, but I can tell you what’s going to happen,” Bush says. “There’s kind of a general pattern. And there will be flash in the pans, there will be this crisis, there will be the funding thing. There will be all these things that happen, but eventually the person who can best lead their party will be nominated.” Given the near certainty of Hillary’s bid, Bush’s logic about his brother Jeb entering the campaign was mathematical: “What difference does it make,” he said at the time, “if the order is Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama/Clinton or it is Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama/Bush?” Even if the nation longed for a fresh face, the fantastic plot twist of 2016 was that someone named Bush still stood a chance. To 43, at least, the downside of one dynasty canceled the downside of the other. “I’m sure there will be moments where somebody says something about Jeb or somebody writes something about Jeb that will sting,” Bush says. “I shouldn’t say I’m used to it, but the emotions I felt when our dad was criticized really got me for a while. … I think I’ll feel the same thing about Jeb. It’ll be interesting to see how affected I become.” **Bill Clinton defends the Clinton Foundation against critics**Clinton defends the model of their foundation, which builds coalitions to address challenges like maternal health, AIDS, and development and sustainability. If his post-presidency has a signature, it has been forging partnerships between private businesses and government officials to break down barriers to change. “I think it’s crazy to keep all of these efforts siloed,” he says. “As long as you have total and full disclosure, and people can evaluate the im­pact of what you’ve done and the impact of the decisions you’ve made and how to do it, it’s still the right way to go.” Clinton continues, “Now I’ve been, as you know, criticized for it the last few months, but I still think we’re right.” The foundation says it has disclosed the names and ag­gregate amounts of most of its 300,000­ plus donors since its founding in 2001; the identities of donors to a Canadian partnership with the foundation, how­ ever, remain secret. **Why Hillary Clinton thought she’d never be a politician**“I asked her to marry me three times before she said yes,” Clinton recalls, “and the first time I said, ‘I want you to marry me but you shouldn’t do it.’” He told her she was most talented pol of their generation, the most natural leader, with the best command of the issues, and rather than marry him, she should go to Chicago or New York and get into politics. To which she responded: “Oh my God … I’ll never run for office. I’m too aggressive, and nobody will ever vote for me.” Clinton pauses, shakes his head. “True story.” **Will George W. Bush paint Bill Clinton?**Aides say Bush can break into discussion about “light values” at any moment, and his easels and paints have taken over a weight room at the family compound in Maine. He has done series on dogs and leaders and, more recently, his granddaughter. He admits that efforts to paint Laura have not been successful; asked if he has tried painting Clinton, Bush pretends to be serious. “I’ve tried and tried and tried.” Then he confesses: “No, I haven’t. I don’t want to ruin friendships.” “He can’t get my bulbous nose right,” Clinton deadpans. [Read TIME’s cover story, “Game of Thrones: Inside the most surprising alliance in politics.”](time.com/magazine) ### See Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Together  Bush and Clinton in Dallas on July 9 Mark Seliger for TIME  Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Mark Seliger for TIME  Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in discussion with TIME's deputy managing editor Michael Duffy (far left) and editor Nancy Gibbs (right) Mark Seliger for TIME  Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in discussion with TIME's editor Nancy Gibbs Mark Seliger for TIME  Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush Mark Seliger for TIME ## Transcript The younger Bush brother did not make the governor's chair in Florida. The older Bush brother, George W. Bush, did make it in Texas. This is a mixed night for the Bush family. I know we can do better. It requires a new style of leadership, commitment to service to others, and an ability to bring people together rather than divide I wanna be the governor that leads us there. And in Florida, Jeb Bush, 56 to 44 over Buddy MacKay, the Democratic candidate. My brother said in one of his speeches, my brother said he's gonna deliver Florida. [ LAUGH ] He did say That he said it more than once. Will he deliver it? He also told it was going to be a cold Thanksgiving dinner if I don't help him out, and then we're going to carry it. We could be in for a long night as voters decide whether Vice President Al Gore or Texas Governor George Bush will be the next president of the United States. It is that close. ABC News is now going to project that Florida goes to Mr. Bush. While the closest elections in American history Bush has won it. The rigor of the common core state standards must be the new minimum in classrooms. And so for those states that are choosing a path other than common core I say this. You should be aiming even higher. And be bolder and raise standards and ask more for our students and the system. The simple fact is there is no plan to deport 11 Million people. We should give them a path to legal status. Where they work, where they don't receive government benefits, where they don't break the law, where they learn English, and where they make a contribution to our society. Knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion? I would of and so would of Hillary Clinton. Just to remind everybody and so would of almost everybody that was confronted with the intelligence they got. By the way guess who thinks that those mistakes took place as well. George W. Bush. Your brother. Yeah. I mean so just for the news flash to the world that they're trying to find places that there's big space between me and my brother, this might not be one of those. I'm running for president in 2016, and the focus is going to be about how we, if I run, how do you create high sustained economic growth where more people have a chance at our success. I don't know if I'd be a good candidate or a bad one. Kinda know how a Republican can win, whether it's me or somebody else. And it has to be much more uplifting, much more positive, much more willing to be practical now in the Washington world. Lose the primary to win the general. Without violating your principles, it's not an easy task. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3968132/bill-clinton-george-bush-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3968132/bill-clinton-george-bush-interview/"},"headline":"Bill Clinton and George W. Bush's Plan for 2016","datePublished":"2015-07-23T10:00:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:16.579Z","description":"In an interview with TIME, the two former presidents reveal their views on the upcoming presidential campaign which could pit one's wife against another's brother. Plus, Bill Clinton defends his family's foundation, why Hillary Clinton never thought she'd be in politics and whether George W. 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