Politics
REPORT: Bush Family Plots To Regain Control Of GOP After Trump Leaves Office
Former President George W. Bush and his political allies are laying out plans to regain control of the Republican Party after President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029, according to a new report.
Former President Bush has largely stayed out of the political fray since leaving office, instead spending the majority of time in his native Texas, where he golfs, hosts charity events and remains an avid sports fan. He has seldom weighed in on President Trump and the current political climate, namely when he stumped for his brother, Jeb, in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
Bush has also criticized Trump for advancing what he refers to as “nativism,” but has largely stayed out of the political fray.
His public interviews and appearances are increasing, however, while portions of his once winning coalition have been calling on “W” to become more politically active. “President Bush, please man, we could use your voice right now,” former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who now works as a vehemently pro-Democrat host on MSNBC, recently said while looking directly into the camera.
“You have a voice that would resonate with a lot more Americans than some folks around you are telling you,” he added.
According to a recent report from the Daily Mail, Bush allies have long conceded that they would need to “ride out” Trump’s second term before re-entering the political fray in force. “Now, rumors are stirring of a plot to end the so-called ‘Bush Exile’ and take back the GOP from the so-called scourge of Trumpism,” the outlet reported.
“Behind the scenes, and still with deep connections around the country, a shadow Republican Party is lying in wait to take over when Trump is gone.
And, while the former president is determined not to publicly criticize Trump – much to the frustration of some of his former aides – he may not be averse to quietly helping to shape the Republican Party’s long-term future,” the report continued.
Former President George W. Bush addresses the audience at the Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library on April 10, 2014
Photo: LBJ Library
One source, described by The Mail as a former Bush official, told the outlet that Trump “knows that there’s no third term option,” while admitting that Vice President JD Vance “has a head start” over potential GOP rivals in 2028. This aligns with polling data, which has for months found Vance with a comfortable lead over any potential Republican challengers.
Despite this, the ex-Bush official predicted that “there will be a big open field within the Republican Party,” come 2028.
During President Trump’s rise in the 2016 Republican primary, he repeatedly attacked the former president over his hawkish foreign policy positions and his handling of the war on terror.
Bush has emerged from time to time in order to criticize Trump, including during the president’s first term, when he claimed that his Republican successor’s “isolationist” policy goals were destabilizing the world during a 2019 policy discussion alongside former President Bill Clinton at the Nir School of the Heart.
In a 2021 interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, Bush revealed he felt that Trump “lacked the ‘humility’ necessary to be an effective leader.”
