Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said his wife is "supportive" of him making a bid for the White House in 2016, even though Columba has previously been described as being skeptical of the prospects.
Bush made the remarks in an interview with
The Associated Press while he was on the campaign trail for his son, George P. Bush, who is running for land commissioner in Texas.
"My wife is supportive, but that doesn't mean that I don't understand the challenges that this brings. This is ultimately my decision with as much consideration as I can to take into account the people that I really love," he said.
He also commented on his mother's, former first lady Barbara Bush, position, which has remained unclear.
At the beginning of the year, she said in an interview that she hoped Jeb would not make a bid for the White House, believing there are more families than the "Kennedys, Clintons, and Bushes" who are qualified to run the country.
Several months later, however, she appeared to
reverse her position, saying she thought Jeb is "the best qualified person in the country" to be president.
"As it relates to my mom, my mom's been around the track … she just believes that it's something that she doesn't want my family to go through, although she's changed her mind on that," Bush said. "So I'm marking her down to 'neutral, trending in a different direction' than she was."
Bush has said he will make a decision about a run by the end of the year, after
consulting with his family and considering how it would affect them. The decision would also come down to whether he could do it "joyfully."
"I don't want to do anything that would make it harder for George to be successful in his pursuits, for sure," he said of whether he intends to mount a campaign.
George P. Bush said during the interview that he would be "helpful" should his father decide to run, but that he would be focused on the job he was elected to do. In March, he said his father "would make a
fantastic president."
In recent months, aides and those close to Bush have suggested he is likely to make a bid.
A
recent report indicated that he has been doing private prep work on key international issues and making visits to top Senate races across the country to campaign.
He has also shifted his fundraising activity, traveling not only to key states for the midterm elections, but headlining fundraisers in his home state where he has the chance to network with potential new supporters to build his own base of contacts.
Another report in September indicated that
Bush's closest advisers have been quietly telling GOP strategists and fundraisers that they should refrain from making any commitments to other candidates until after the November elections.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.