--- title: Michelle Obama Reveals Details of Candy Exchange With George W. Bush description: Remember the candy George W. Bush gave to Michelle Obama at John McCain's funeral? There's more. She shares the hilarious story. canonical: https://time.com/5421736/michelle-obama-george-bush-candy/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-11T13:14:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:02:35.013Z og:title: Michelle Obama Reveals What Really Happened During Her Sweet Exchange With George W. Bush og:description: The moment captured the nation's heart at John McCain's funeral og:url: https://time.com/5421736/michelle-obama-george-bush-candy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a2f98a60f90db20/6989394086f68ef6436ea0f1/george-bush-michelle-obama-candy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: George Bush Slips Candy to Michelle Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michelle Obama Reveals What Really Happened During Her Sweet Exchange With George W. Bush twitter:description: The moment captured the nation's heart at John McCain's funeral twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a2f98a60f90db20/6989394086f68ef6436ea0f1/george-bush-michelle-obama-candy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michelle Obama Reveals What Really Happened During Her Sweet Exchange With George W. Bush > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Ally is a digital financial services company offering online-only banking, including checking and savings accounts, through Ally.com and its mobile apps. Launched in 2009 as an original disruptor in financial services, Ally was built to challenge outdated banking norms with a simpler, more convenient way to bank. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: George W. Bush Sneaks A Piece of Candy to Michelle Obama at the Memorial Service for John McCain [Watch (HLS stream): George W. Bush Sneaks A Piece of Candy to Michelle Obama at the Memorial Service for John McCain](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RbWvZNzI.m3u8) (1:02)  _Published 2018-09-01. George W. Bush Sneaks A Piece of Candy to Michelle Obama at the Memorial Service for John McCain_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Oct 11, 2018 1:14 PM UTC George W. Bush Sneaks A Piece of Candy to Michelle Obama at the Memorial Service for John McCain by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Oct 11, 2018 1:14 PM UTC There’s nothing like a piece of candy between two bipartisan buds. Perhaps the [sweetest subtle moment](http://time.com/5384902/george-bush-michelle-obama-candy-mccain-funeral/) at John McCain’s funeral in September came when former President George W. Bush slipped former First Lady [Michelle Obama](http://time.com/5250307/barbara-bush-obama-clinton-trump-funeral-photo/) an Altoid. Cameras captured the moment during the funeral service as Sen. Joe Lieberman was delivering his eulogy for McCain who died after a battle with brain cancer at Washington National Cathedral. She mouthed the words “thank you,” with the flash of a smile. Suffice it to say the mint was enough to refresh the internet. People flipped for the “Michelle Obama George Bush” candy moment. So at an appearance on [_NBC’s Today_ show](https://www.today.com/video/michelle-obama-explains-viral-cough-drop-moment-with-george-w-bush-1341729859700?v=raila&) on Thursday morning, Obama explained the gesture, and her relationship with her Republican friend. “I didn’t realize at the time that anybody noticed what we were doing. President Bush and I… we are forever seat mates because of protocol, that’s how we sit at all the official functions so he is my partner in crime at every major thing where all the formers gather,” she explained. “So we’re together all the time, and I love him to death. He’s a wonderful man. He’s a funny man.” But there is one key detail people missed. The Altoids were apparently from a place they both called home – the White House. “I will add they were old cough drops. That’s the funny thing, because they were in the little White House box, and I was like, ‘How long have you had these?’ And he said, ‘A long time, we got a lot of these!'” She went on to discuss why the bipartisan gesture resonated. “That’s what people are hungry for…. Party doesn’t separate us, color gender, those kinds of things don’t separate us. It’s the message that we send,” Obama said. “If we’re the adults in the room and we’re not showing that level of decency, we can’t expect our children to do the same.” > [](https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1050359182191419392) Obama appeared on the _Today_ show to discuss International Day of the Girl. ## Transcript [00:00] Ultimately as he did with so much [00:04] of his life, turned this interfate experiences [00:09] into a truly hilarious comedy routine. It [00:14] began with a solemn pronouncement by John that [00:19] he was converting to Then he explained [00:23] much less solumnly, I do this not because of any particular [00:27] liking for the religion, it's just that for so many years, I've [00:31] had to go along with all of Joe's religious nonsense that I [00:34] might as well convert and get the benefits. One [00:39] of his favorite targets was the Sabbath elevators in Israeli [00:43] hotels Which are pre- programmed to stop at every floor. [00:48] You know, John had many virtues but patience was not [00:52] one of them. [ LAUGH ] Therefore rides on those Shabbat [00:55] elevators were not the happiest times we [00:59] spent together. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5421736/michelle-obama-george-bush-candy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5421736/michelle-obama-george-bush-candy/"},"headline":"Michelle Obama Reveals What Really Happened During Her Sweet Exchange With George W. Bush","datePublished":"2018-10-11T13:14:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T08:02:35.013Z","description":"Remember the candy George W. Bush gave to Michelle Obama at John McCain's funeral? There's more. She shares the hilarious story.","url":"https://time.com/5421736/michelle-obama-george-bush-candy/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Michelle Obama","George W. 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