A rumor that ran through the nation’s capital late Wednesday afternoon and captivated the punditocracy for a few hours was that former President George W. Bush would soon endorse presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden for president.
Four years after Bush reportedly did not vote for fellow Republican Donald Trump — but did not, friends insist, vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton — Bush’s blessing for Biden would be a signal to fellow centrist Republicans that it was OK to “take a walk.”
But, it turned out, the rumor was groundless.
“I’m not sure where this stuff comes from, but that’s not happening,” Freddy Ford, spokesman for Bush, told Newsmax.
No one seems to know just where the rumor started. Two days ago, Fox News contributor Juan Williams did a speculative online piece maintaining that “Bush’s voice has the singular power to reach moderate Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters, freeing them to walk away from the party of Trump.”
The last candidate on a national party ticket to bolt for the opposition party was Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in 2000 and supported Republican John McCain for president in 2008.
The last presidential nominee of a major party to openly support an opposition candidate was former New York Governor and 1928 Democratic Party presidential nominee Al Smith, who supported Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Republican opponents in 1936, ’40, and ’44.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.