There is already a substantial list of Republicans who would rather stay home on Election Day, or even vote for Hillary Clinton, than cast their ballot for Donald Trump.
Some are saying that Laura Bush can now be counted in that category. When the former First Lady, and wife of George W. Bush, appeared at last week’s Women in the World summit, she outlined the qualities she thinks make a good presidential candidate. “I want our next president—whoever he or she might be—to be somebody who is interested in women in Afghanistan and who will continue U.S. policies,” Bush said. She added that the candidate should “pay attention to our history, and know what’s happened before and know specifically how we can continue to do the good things that we do around the world.”
Though she was careful not to name names, some news outlets, including the Telegraph, have speculated that she was referring to Hillary Clinton who worked to improve lives of women in developing countries during her time as Secretary and State. Clinton also wrote a cover endorsement for We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope, Bush’s recently published book.
The U.S. has a tendency “to become sort of isolationist and xenophobic,” Bush continued. “I understand that Americans are angry and frustrated but we do not need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration.”
Again the former First Lady did not specify any candidate. However, it’s easy to interpret this as a criticism of Trump. His comments about Mexicans and Muslims have been deemed by many as isolationist and xenophobic, and he has been accused of exploiting voters’ anger and frustration to rise to the rank of frontrunner.
A spokesperson for the former First Family denied speculation that Bush was supporting Clinton, telling CBS, “They are definitely trying to make this into something it isn’t.”
