Former President George W. Bush has no plans to announce who he will vote for in the upcoming 2024 election.
“No,” the former president’s office said when asked by NBC News whether he or former first lady Laura Bush would publicly endorse a candidate. “President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago.”
Bush’s refusal to publicly express his support comes just a day after his former vice president, Dick Cheney, announced that he would run against his party’s nominee in November and support Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris campaign agrees to ABC presidential debate rules with some ‘assurances’: report
“In our country’s 248-year history, there has never been anyone who poses a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in a statement. “He attempted to rig the last election with lies and violence to keep himself in power after voters rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”
Trump responded to Cheney’s endorsement by calling the former vice president an “irrelevant RINO” in a post for Truth Social shortly after Cheney’s announcement.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Harris said she was “honored” by Cheney’s support, adding that it was “a real affirmation to her that we love our country and that there is more that unites us than divides us.”
The Harris team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Bush’s silence.
TRUMP CONDEMNS ABC AHEAD OF NETWORK’S IMPORTANT DEBATE: “THEY ARE THE WORST, THEY ARE THE FINEST”
While Bush’s office argues that the former president “retired from presidential politics years ago,” he has supported Republican presidential candidates in the past. In 2008, he supported then-Senator John McCain in his push against former President Barack Obama, and in 2012 he also supported the candidacy of Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah.
Bush’s stance on presidential politics apparently changed with the emergence of former President Donald Trump in 2016, about whom Bush made no comments. Bush instead focused on supporting Republican senators. In November, his office said he and the former first lady had not voted for any of the major party candidates in the 2016 election.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
After Trump’s failed attempt to win re-election in 2020, Bush said he had nominated former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for this year’s race.
The Trump team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.