--- title: Jeb Bush Talks About His Dad Again description: Bush says his father's disappointment sent him into "depression for days" when he was younger. canonical: https://time.com/4100311/jeb-bush-george-hw-bush/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-04T21:30:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:45.863Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush Talks About His Dad Again og:description: If he said he was disappointed, Jeb would go into a "deep spiraling depression." og:url: https://time.com/4100311/jeb-bush-george-hw-bush/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa9fad789ecfa09f/69886fa8e20a8774efa8e0cb/jeb-bush-george-hw-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush shows off a Reagan/Bush '84 tee-shirt as he speaks during a Miami field office opening on September 12, 2015 in Miami, Florida. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush Talks About His Dad Again twitter:description: If he said he was disappointed, Jeb would go into a "deep spiraling depression." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa9fad789ecfa09f/69886fa8e20a8774efa8e0cb/jeb-bush-george-hw-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush Talks About His Dad Again > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. 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. by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Nov 4, 2015 9:30 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush shows off a Reagan/Bush '84 tee-shirt as he speaks during a Miami field office opening on September 12, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush shows off a Reagan/Bush '84 tee-shirt as he speaks during a Miami field office opening on September 12, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Nov 4, 2015 9:30 PM UTC Jeb Bush is talking about his father again. Since his campaign launch in June, the Republican presidential candidate has periodically talked about his father, George H.W. Bush, who served as vice president and president. This week, it came up again twice. During an interview on “Meet the Press” Sunday, Bush [talked with host Chuck Todd](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/11/01/bush%5Fi%5Flove%5Fmy%5Fdad%5Fid%5Fkill%5Ffor%5Fhim%5Fid%5Fgo%5Fto%5Fprison%5Ffor%5Fhim.html) about how much he loves his dad. “I love my dad. I’d kill for him. I’d go to prison for him because, I love him so much,” he said. “Thankfully I haven’t had the need to do that.” After a speech at a charter school in New Hampshire Wednesday, Bush responded to a question about his father with more praise. “When I was a kid, he was just a dad,” he said. “And he was the greatest dad alive.” But, he added, if his father said he was “disappointed” in him, it would send him into a “deep spiraling depression for days.” Here are some other times that Bush has talked about this father on the campaign trail. **February:** During a speech on foreign policy, Bush [said that he would follow his own path](http://time.com/3712925/jeb-bush-foreign-policy-george/). “I love my father and my brother,” he said. “But I am my own man—and my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences.” **April:** During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Bush [joked about his family ties](http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/17/politics/jeb-bush-republican-leadership-summit/), saying he is not running “to try to break the tie between the Adams family and the Bush family.” **June:** On his father’s birthday, Bush [tweeted a photo](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/12/george-hw-bush-birthday%5Fn%5F7569686.html) of his dad. “To the greatest man I’ve ever known. Happy Birthday, Dad,” he wrote. **August:** Bush [opened an online campaign store](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/08/05/jeb-bush-selling-t-shirt-threatening-to-beat-up-people-who-dont-like-his-dad/) with a T-shirt praising his dad. “My dad is the greatest man I’ve ever known, and if you don’t think so, we can step outside,” it reads. At [the first Republican debate](http://time.com/3988276/republican-debate-primetime-transcript-full-text/), Bush said the bar was higher for him because of his father. “That’s fine. I’ve got a record in Florida. I’m proud of my dad, and I’m certainly proud of my brother,” he said. “In Florida, they called me Jeb, because I earned it.” **September:** Bush argued that his father [would set a good example](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/jeb-bush-begins-embrace-last-name-campaign-trail-n433091) for his presidency on foreign policy. “I know how to do this because, yes, I am a Bush,” he said. “I happen to have seen two really good presidents develop relationships with other countries.” **October:** Bush said [his campaign](http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/07/politics/jeb-bush-george-h-w-bush-health/index.html) was helping keep his father’s spirits up. “I noticed he’s not watching _CSI_ reruns anymore,” he said. “He’s watching FOX, getting mad about people that attack me. I feel like I’m making a contribution to keep him strong.” **November:** Bush included [an email from his father](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jeb-bushs-book-reveals-death-penalty-doubts-thoughts/story?id=34917245) in a new book in which he talks about he loves. “It is so good of you that I have gotten over my being cropped out by the photographer,” the elder Bush wrote. ### See Jeb Bush's Life in Photos  George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, Jan. 1, 1955. Sygma/Corbis  From left to right: Doro, Marvin, Neil, and Jeb Bush, fall 1963. George Bush Presidential Library  From left to right: Doro, George, Jeb, Marvin, George W., Neil, and Barbara Bush, 1966. George Bush Presidential Library  Jeb Bush (center) was the varsity tennis team captain during his senior year at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., 1971. Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library  George Bush and his four sons, Neil, Jeb, George W. and Marvin in 1970. Bob E. Daemmrich—Sygma/Corbis  Jeb and Columba Bush on their wedding day, Feb. 23, 1974. George Bush Presidential Library  Jeb Bush loudly applauds his father, Republican presidential hopeful George Bush, at a campaign rally in Concord, N.H. on Feb. 28, 1980. Frank Lorenzo—Bettmann/Corbis  Vice President George Bush holds a fish with his sons George W. and Jeb during a family vacation in Kennebunkport, Maine in Aug. 1983. Cynthia Johnson—Getty Images  From left to right (without children): Neil and Sharon Bush, George W. Bush and wife Laura, Barbara and George Bush, Margaret and Marvin, Bobby Koch and Dorothy, Jeb and Columba, are seen in this Bush family photo taken in Kennebunkport, Maine on Aug. 24, 1986. Dave Valdez—White House/Sygma/Corbis  Jeb Bush plays cards with his son while riding in a recreational vehicle, Nov. 8, 1993. Christopher Little—Corbis  Jeb Bush is interviewed at a Miami Radio Station, WIOD, Mar. 1980\. He went on to become Governor of Florida in 1999. Tim Chapman—Getty Images  George W. Bush and Jeb Bush at the Republican Governors' Convention in New Orleans, 1998. Nina Berman—SIPA  Texas governor George W. Bush celebrates good news with his brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, while watching the presidential election returns, prior to being elected as President of the United States, inside the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Nov. 7, 2000. Brooks Kraft—Sygma/Corbis  Republican governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, studies his laptop watching vote returns for his reelection his wife Columba Bush and his parents, former President George Bush and first lady Barbara Bush in Miami on Nov. 5, 2002. Joe Burbank—Orlando Sentinel/MCT/Getty Images  Republican nominee for President, Mitt Romney, campaigns around Florida with Governor Jeb Bush, left, Senator Marco Rubio, right, and Congressman Connie Mack, left back of head, in Coral Gables, Fla. on Oct., 31, 2012. Melina Mara—The Washington Post/Getty Images  Jeb Bush speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md. on Feb. 27, 2015. Mark Peterson—Redux for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4100311/jeb-bush-george-hw-bush/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4100311/jeb-bush-george-hw-bush/"},"headline":"Jeb Bush Talks About His Dad Again","datePublished":"2015-11-04T21:30:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:45.863Z","description":"Bush says his father's disappointment sent him into \"depression for days\" when he was younger.","url":"https://time.com/4100311/jeb-bush-george-hw-bush/","keywords":["jeb bush","2016 Election","George W. 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