NYT: George W. Bush Won’t Support Trump In 2020. Bush Spokesman: ‘This Is Completely Made Up’

On Saturday, in an article detailing prominent Republican politicians who will not support President Trump’s reelection, The New York Times reported that former President George W. Bush would not support President Trump’s reelection.

But on Saturday night, Freddy Ford, a spokesman for Bush, told The Texas Tribune  that the Times’ proclamation about his boss was false. He stated in an email, “This is completely made up. He is retired from presidential politics and has not indicated how he will vote.”

The Times story, titled “Vote for Trump? These Republican Leaders Aren’t on the Bandwagon,” stated in the sub-headline,“Former President George W. Bush and Senator Mitt Romney won’t support Mr. Trump’s re-election.”

In the Times article, it took a shot at Trump’s “incendiary response to the protests of police brutality, atop his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic,” writing:

But, far sooner than they expected, growing numbers of prominent Republicans are debating how far to go in revealing that they won’t back his re-election — or might even vote for Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee. They’re feeling a fresh urgency because of Mr. Trump’s incendiary response to the protests of police brutality, atop his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions. Former President George W. Bush won’t support the re-election of Mr. Trump, and Jeb Bush isn’t sure how he’ll vote, say people familiar with their thinking.

The Texas Tribune noted:

Both of the Bush brothers — and their parents, former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush — said in 2016 they didn’t vote for Trump. But Trump endorsed Jeb’s son, George P. Bush, when he ran for reelection as Texas Land Commissioner in 2018. In 2014, before Jeb Bush ran for president (a race he lost to Trump), George P. told the Texas Tribune’s Evan Smith he wouldn’t endorse his father.

PJ Media noted, “There are a lot of tensions between the Bush family and Trump. In 2016, Bush’s younger brother Jeb also sought the Republican nomination for the presidency, and was repeatedly mocked by Trump. George W. Bush has also been criticized by the current president, particularly with regard to the Iraq War. In a July 2018 rally, Trump also attacked George H.W. Bush, saying, ‘Thousand points of light, I never quite got that one.’”

Trump continued at the rally, “What the hell is that? Has anyone ever figured that one out? And it was put out by a Republican, wasn’t it? I know one thing, Make America Great Again we understand. Putting America first we understand.”

George H.W. Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign, in which he defeated Massachusetts Democrat Governor Michael Dukakis, utilized the motto “a thousand points of light.” George H.W. Bush later founded a nonprofit group to encourage volunteerism that used the slogan.