The chorus calling for ex-president George W. Bush’s brother Jeb to run for head of state in 2016 continues to get louder – and it appears the former Florida governor may be willing to throw his hat in the ring.
Former US President George W. Bush said on Thursday that he thinks his brother “wants to be president,” in an interview withFox News.
“I think he’d be a great president,” Bush told Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade. “He understands what it’s like to be president...he’s seen his dad, he’s seen his brother. He’s a very thoughtful man and he’s weighing his options.”
Bush added he is encouraging younger brother Jeb to enter the presidential race.
“I, of course, was pushing him to run for president,” the 43rd president said. “He, of course, was saying, ‘I haven’t made up my mind,’ and I truly don’t think he has.”
“Plus, I don’t think he liked it that his older brother was pushing him,” he added.
This is not the first time Jeb Bush has been told to run for office by a family member. Earlier this year, sibling Neil Bush explained that his father – 41st President George H.W. Bush – wants Jeb to run despite the fact that former First Lady Barbara Bush said there have been “enough Bushes” in the White House.
“We’re sitting in the waiting room of the hotel waiting to go to the Bush library event, and mom said that, we were all watching Jeb standing over in the corner nervously, just, like, what’s your response to that?” Neil said at the time to CNN. “But it’s not going to affect Jeb’s decision. If you ask dad, if you ask dad the same question, should Jeb run? He’d say yes.”
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush himself furthered speculation in April when he confirmed he is “thinking about running for president.”
In addition to talking up his brother, George W. Bush also talked about current President Barack Obama, who recently renewed American military action in Iraq. Bush said that while he supported leaving a contingent of troops behind in Iraq, he would not criticize Obama for withdrawing US combat forces.
“The president has to make the choices he thinks are important. I’m not going to second guess our president. I understand how tough the job is,” he said. “To have a former president bloviating and second-guessing, I don’t think is good for the presidency or the country. He and his team will make the best informed decisions they can make.”
Bush also expressed support for what he believes is the correct long-term strategy in the Middle East, which is to promote democracy while directly combating terrorism.
“Americans have got to understand that the lesson of 9/11 is still important today as it was right after 9/11,” he said, “and that is the human condition elsewhere matters to our national security.”