It doesn't matter that their wife and brother, respectively, both hope to be the next president of the United States — Bill Clinton and George W. Bush say that nothing is going to come between their unlikely friendship.
"He loves his brother," Clinton told USA Today Thursday during a joint interview with Bush. "I love Hillary." If both wind up being their party's nominee, "he's going to vote for his brother; I'm sure going to vote for Hillary, and something will happen. But we'll still be friends." Clinton added, "If they win the nominations, it's going to be a very hard-fought campaign, and if it's like any other campaign, it'll be somewhat bruising, and the surrogates will be really tough, and they'll have hard debates, and we'll just live with it."
Bush also is sure that the relationship he has with Clinton won't change the tone of a potential Hillary versus Jeb race. "I don't think it's going to be different," he said. "I think it's going to be a political campaign. ... I know Jeb will treat Hillary with respect, and I'm confident Hillary will treat Jeb with respect. I'm not sure I can speak that highly of some of the surrogates they may have out there, but these two surrogates will."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Both men know that their friendship is surprising to many, but as Bush points out, they have a lot in common, beyond just being Baby Boomers and former governors of southern states. "[We're] affable people; we're not zero-sum thinkers," he said. They're also "like two old war horses, put out to pasture." Clinton shares a strong bond with George H.W. Bush as well, and W. has joked that Clinton's his "brother by another mother." Clinton is relishing the fact that Bush just had a birthday, turning 69 right before he does. "For one month a year, I'm the younger brother," he said.
Read the whole interview at USA Today.
-
August 31 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include FEMA's new scheme, Gavin Newsom's antics, and a clue in the Epstein files
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky missionTalking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogsThe Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
