Former United States President George W Bush, a Republican, seems to be reluctant to endorse his party’s presidential candidate, Donald Trump, for the presidential election in November.
The 43rd president does not plan to make an endorsement or voice how he or his wife Laura will vote in the presidential election, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Bush will not join his former vice president Dick Cheney, who said last week that he would vote for Democrat Kamala Harris over Republican Trump, crossing party lines.
“He retired from presidential politics many years ago,” said the spokesman, who did not wish to be named.
Cheney, 83, who served as vice president under Bush, 78, from 2001 to 2009, said on Friday that “in our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”
Additionally, Mike Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president for four years, has said he will not endorse his former boss but has not backed Harris.
After Trump won the presidential election against Hillary Clinton in 2016, Bush attended his inauguration but reportedly called his speech “some weird s***.”
However, a spokesperson at the time said that Bush and his wife did not vote for either Trump or Clinton. He also declined to endorse Joe Biden or Trump in 2020.
With the presidential elections nearly two months away, the Harris campaign reports strong support from other 230 alumni of Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.
Despite her efforts to attract swing state voters, a recent New York Times/Siena College poll suggests that Harris may face un uphill battle.
The poll indicates that Trump leads Harris 48% to 47%, with voters perceiving the Republican candidate as closer to the center compared to the vice president, who is seen as too liberal or progressive, according to the poll.
Harris and Trump are set to spar in their highly-anticipated first debate which will be hosted by ABC in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
