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Former president George W Bush - who has made few public comments about the 2024 White House race - has been poking fun at the advanced ages of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump in private speeches, according to a report.
The Republican, who at 78 years old is the same age as Trump, has been known to joke in paid speeches that both Trump and Biden, 81, are too old for the job.
“I’m younger than both of the candidates, and I’m too old,” Bush said in at least one speech, a witness told USA Today.
Bush, who spends most of his days in retirement painting, have given few remarks about either Biden or Trump. He was reported to have not supported Trump in his 2020 re-election bid.
His former press secretary offered a reason for his silence.
"The job of the president is very hard to begin with," Ari Fleischer told USA TODAY. "He doesn’t want to make it harder for anyone, friend or foe."
"It’s very old school," Fleischer added. "It’s very gracious. It’s very Bush."
While Trump’s name hardly has passed Bush’s lips publicly, after the assassination attempt on the former president on Saturday in Pennsylvania, he made the rare exception.
"Laura and I are grateful that President Trump is safe following the cowardly attack on his life," Bush said. "And we commend the men and women of the Secret Service for their speedy response,” Bush posted on X in a statement.
The Republican former presidents have striking differences in policy and opinion. Trump has made it well known that he condemned Bush’s actions in the Middle East following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when he ordered US troops into Afghanistan and later Iraq.
“The World Trade Center came down during his watch. Bush led a failed and uninspiring presidency. He shouldn’t be lecturing anybody!” Trump raged in 2021, after Bush drew a veiled comparison between al-Qaeda terrorists and the political extremists who stormed the US Capitol on Jan 6.
Bush has hosted dozens of fundraisers for Republican candidates he has favored, all in private, since leaving office.
In 2016, he publicly supported his brother, Jeb Bush, when he ran against Trump in the Republican primary by attending one of his rallies in 2016.
After Trump won, Bush attended his inauguration, but following the new president’s address at the event, he reportedly joked to fellow attendees: “That was some weird s***.”
