--- title: Michelle Obama Discusses Bush Candy Moment at Funeral description: Michelle Obama discusses the Bush candy passing moment at the George H.W. Bush funeral. canonical: https://time.com/5481370/michelle-obama-george-bush-mint/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-17T14:46:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:56:27.961Z og:title: Michelle Obama Discusses 'The Beauty of George Bush' og:description: She's talking about how he brought her the mint at his father's funeral og:url: https://time.com/5481370/michelle-obama-george-bush-mint/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe24b6ccc02c516/69894094bc6cfc40ee3e79b1/trump-michelle-obama-george-h-w-bush-funeral.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: trump-michelle-obama-george-h-w-bush-funeral og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michelle Obama Discusses 'The Beauty of George Bush' twitter:description: She's talking about how he brought her the mint at his father's funeral twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe24b6ccc02c516/69894094bc6cfc40ee3e79b1/trump-michelle-obama-george-h-w-bush-funeral.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michelle Obama on How Their 'Refreshing' Tradition Shows 'the Beauty of George 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. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=feb2cc04-d1d0-42f4-9bce-1bb196c98472&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=feb2cc04-d1d0-42f4-9bce-1bb196c98472&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=feb2cc04-d1d0-42f4-9bce-1bb196c98472&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? 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 Dec 17, 2018 2:46 PM UTC  President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as they join other former presidents and vice presidents and their spouses for the state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral on Dec. 5, 2018 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as they join other former presidents and vice presidents and their spouses for the state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral on Dec. 5, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Dec 17, 2018 2:46 PM UTC Former First Lady [Michelle Obama](http://time.com/5471207/george-bush-mich/) is discussing a refreshing new tradition she shares with former President George W. Bush, one of the many topics she has touched upon during her _Becoming_ book tour. Recently at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush, the 43rd president was ready to pass a mint for Michelle as he greeted the Obamas. People online were obsessed with the moment. (In fact, it was a callback to the blink-and-you-miss it move that cameras captured at a service memorializing John McCain, and Obama described the now-traditional gesture fondly.) “He has the presence of mind and the sense of humor to bring me a mint, and he made it a point to give me that mint right then and there and that’s the beauty of George Bush,” Obama said in conversation at the SAP Center over the weekend. The act of kindness was a resonant moment for people who felt it demonstrated the power of bipartisanship. Speaking of the way the sweet gesture hit home for many watching, Obama [said this in November](http://time.com/5454153/michelle-obama-on-george-w-bush/): “Because I think the political discourse, the way it’s shown in the media, is … all the nasty parts of it. You know? Because I guess we’ve become a culture where the nasty sells. So people are just gonna keep feeding that. We’re all Americans. We all care about our family and our kids, and we’re trying to get ahead. And that’s how I feel about your father. You know? He’s a beautiful, funny, kind, sweet man.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5481370/michelle-obama-george-bush-mint/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5481370/michelle-obama-george-bush-mint/"},"headline":"Michelle Obama on How Their 'Refreshing' Tradition Shows 'the Beauty of George Bush'","datePublished":"2018-12-17T14:46:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:56:27.961Z","description":"Michelle Obama discusses the Bush candy passing moment at the George H.W. Bush funeral.","url":"https://time.com/5481370/michelle-obama-george-bush-mint/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe24b6ccc02c516/69894094bc6cfc40ee3e79b1/trump-michelle-obama-george-h-w-bush-funeral.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe24b6ccc02c516/69894094bc6cfc40ee3e79b1/trump-michelle-obama-george-h-w-bush-funeral.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"trump-michelle-obama-george-h-w-bush-funeral","caption":"State Funeral Held For George H.W. Bush At The Washington National Cathedral","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5481370/michelle-obama-george-bush-mint/","name":"Michelle Obama on How Their 'Refreshing' Tradition Shows 'the Beauty of George Bush'"}}]}] ```