--- 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: 2026-04-13T07:55:24.559Z 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 TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Oct 11, 2018 1:14 PM UTC  Former President George W. Bush slips a piece of candy to former First Lady Michelle Obama during Sen. John McCain's funeral on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 Former President George W. Bush slips a piece of candy to former First Lady Michelle Obama during Sen. John McCain's funeral on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 Pool video 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. ```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. 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