Barbara Bush reverses on 'enough Bushes' line

Family matriarch Barbara Bush no longer believes there have been “enough Bushes” in the White House.

Appearing via videolink at a Bonita Springs, Fla., gala where Jeb Bush was speaking Friday, she said: “Jeb, it’s mom. Listen, what do you mean, ‘too many Bushes’?… I changed my mind!” the Washington Post reported.


Barbara Bush famously said she thought there had been “enough Bushes” in the White House during a 2014 interview with C-SPAN.

“If we can’t find more than two or three families to run for higher office, that’s silly. Because there are great governors and great eligible people to run,” she said. “There are a lot of ways to serve, and being president is not the only one, and I would hope that someone else would run.”

At the time, she did say Jeb Bush is qualified to run: “[T]here’s no question in my mind that Jeb is the best-qualified person to run for president, but I hope he won’t … There are other families. I refuse to accept that this great country isn’t raising other wonderful people.”

Since then the former Florida governor has begun moving forward with a likely presidential campaign.

While Jeb Bush received his mother’s support on Friday, he did ask if he could get her comments in writing before saying how much he loved her and calling her the greatest mother in the world.