--- title: Former Presidents Bush Don't Plan to Endorse Donald Trump description: Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush do not plan to endorse anyone in the the 2016 presidential race canonical: https://time.com/4318875/george-jeb-bush-donald-trump-endorse/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-04T23:17:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:17:13.352Z article:section: Politics og:title: Both Former Presidents Bush Don't Plan to Endorse Donald Trump og:description: George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush enthusiastically endorsed previous Republican nominees og:url: https://time.com/4318875/george-jeb-bush-donald-trump-endorse/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt716f5a9056890f04/698891f4ab6d77de166a98e7/george-bush-endorsement.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: George W. Bush Library Dedication Attended By President Obama And Former Presidents og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Both Former Presidents Bush Don't Plan to Endorse Donald Trump twitter:description: George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush enthusiastically endorsed previous Republican nominees twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt716f5a9056890f04/698891f4ab6d77de166a98e7/george-bush-endorsement.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Both Former Presidents Bush Won't Endorse Trump  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 4, 2016 11:17 PM CUT  Former President George W. Bush (right) talks to his father President George H.W. Bush during the opening ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on Apr. 25, 2013. Former President George W. Bush (right) talks to his father President George H.W. Bush during the opening ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on Apr. 25, 2013.Kevork Djansezian—Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly May 4, 2016 11:17 PM CUT Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush [do not plan to endorse anyone](https://www.texastribune.org/2016/05/04/bush-41-43-have-no-plans-endorse-trump/ "undefined") in the the 2016 presidential race. The father and brother of Jeb Bush, who [dropped out of the Republican primary race](http://time.com/4231664/jeb-bush-drops-out-president/ "undefined") in February, said they won’t participate in the election process and won’t endorse [presumptive Republican nominee](http://time.com/4316170/indiana-primary-results-donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-republicans/ "undefined") Donald Trump, the [Texas _Tribune_ reported](https://www.texastribune.org/2016/05/04/bush-41-43-have-no-plans-endorse-trump/ "undefined") on Wednesday. “At age 91, President Bush is retired from politics,” Jim McGrath, the 41st president’s spokesman, said in an email Wednesday, the _Tribune_ reported. “He came out of retirement to do a few things for Jeb, but those were the exceptions that proved the rule.” George W. Bush’s personal aide, Freddy Ford, said the 43rd president “does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign,” the _Tribune_ reported. Both former presidents have endorsed previous Republican nominees, supporting Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. Jeb Bush [endorsed Ted Cruz](http://time.com/4268888/jeb-bush-endorses-ted-cruz/ "undefined") in March, calling him a “consistent, principled conservative.” Cruz [ended his campaign for president](http://time.com/4317299/ted-cruz-drops-out-ends-campaign-indiana-primary-analysis/ "undefined") after losing the Indiana primary on Tuesday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4318875/george-jeb-bush-donald-trump-endorse/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4318875/george-jeb-bush-donald-trump-endorse/"},"headline":"Both Former Presidents Bush Won't Endorse Trump","datePublished":"2016-05-04T23:17:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:17:13.352Z","description":"They have enthusiastically endorsed previous Republican nominees","url":"https://time.com/4318875/george-jeb-bush-donald-trump-endorse/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt716f5a9056890f04/698891f4ab6d77de166a98e7/george-bush-endorsement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt716f5a9056890f04/698891f4ab6d77de166a98e7/george-bush-endorsement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"George W. 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