Neither George Bush voted for Trump, book
author tells New York Times
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[November 06, 2017]
(Reuters) - George H.W. Bush and his
son George W. Bush did not vote for fellow Republican Donald Trump last
year, says the author of a new book on the 41st and 43rd U.S. presidents
in which they open up about their disapproval of the man now occupying
the White House.
The elder Bush voted for Hillary Clinton, while his son voted for
neither Trump nor his Democratic challenger, or "none of the above,"
said Mark K. Updegrove, who wrote "The Last Republicans” with the
cooperation of the two Bushes. HarperCollins will publish the book on
Nov. 14.
In an interview with the New York Times, Updegrove said the elder Bush,
93, who served as president from 1989 to 1993, had an instinctive
dislike of Trump though he did not know him personally.
In an interview during the 2016 presidential campaign, George H.W. Bush
told the author that Trump was a "blowhard," driven by "a certain ego"
and lacking a commitment to public service.
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The younger Bush, 71, who served in the White House from 2001 to 2009,
believed candidate Trump lacked both humility and a necessary
understanding of the presidency, Updegrove said in previewing the book
about the relationship between the Bushes, written with the cooperation
of the father and son.
During the campaign, George W. Bush told the author that he feared he
would turn out to be the last Republican elected president.
“At the time, I think he was concerned that Hillary Clinton would win,”
Updegrove told the Times.
“But if you look at his values and those shared by his father and Ronald
Reagan, they are very much in contrast to the values of the Republican
Party today, in particular the platform that Donald Trump ran on, which
is essentially protectionism and a certain xenophobia,” said Updegrove,
a historian who has written several books about the presidency.
Updegrove could not be reached for further comment.
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![](../images/110617pics/news_f11.jpg)
Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush waves from the field before
game five of the 2017 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers
and the Houston Astros in Houston, Texas, U.S. on October 29, 2017.
REUTERS/David J. Phillip/Pool via USA TODAY Sport
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_080217.png)
"The American people voted to elect an outsider who is capable of
implementing real, positive, and needed change - instead of a
lifelong politician beholden to special interests," White House
spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
"If they were interested in continuing decades of costly mistakes,
another establishment politician more concerned with putting
politics over people would have won.”
Like many Americans, George W. Bush was surprised that Trump fared
so well in last year's Republican state primaries, where his brother
Jeb, a former Florida governor, emerged as one of Trump's most
frequent targets.
During the campaign, the billionaire real estate developer, a
political novice, promised to "drain the swamp" in Washington, a vow
that extended to the Republican establishment, which the Bush family
epitomized.
The book follows a rare speech by the younger Bush in which he
delivered a sweeping yet thinly veiled critique of the Trump
administration's policies and the president's blunt style.
The 43rd president decried “bullying and prejudice” in public life
while defending open immigration and trade, two of the pillars of
previous Republican administrations that have come under sustained
attack by the new president.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Nov/06/images/ads/current/ldn_more_exposure_bch.png)
(Reporting By Frank McGurty in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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