It was the snub heard ’round the world.

But the alleged snub was only initially heard by one person — a Democrat.

“The Bushes have always been out for themselves … It’s more about family than it is about party. They are the Corleones of the Republican Party.”

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President George H. W. Bush allegedly told a Democrat that he wasn’t voting for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Instead, Bush would vote for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

The elder Bush told Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, the former Maryland lieutenant governor and daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, about his decision last week. The news spread like wildfire, with Kennedy Townsend fanning the flames.

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Bush’s spokesman would not comment on the matter. But no denial was issued.

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For the vast majority of Republicans who have rallied behind their party’s nominee — and even Republicans not enthusiastic about Trump — the news was disappointing. Donald Rumsfeld, who was part of the administrations of President Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush, said part of the reason was that the senior Bush was getting “up in years.” George H. W. Bush is 92.

There has been no public indication of how President George W. Bush will vote.

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But Bush’s brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is likely going to punt too. Despite a pledge to support the GOP nominee, Jeb Bush has said he cannot support Trump. Jeb Bush was defeated by the now-GOP nominee in the 2016 GOP primaries, and it was a bitter loss. Jeb Bush has barely been seen helping other candidates in other races since then — but he found time to appear in a promotional video for the Emmys.

“The Bushes have always been out for themselves,” said Craig Shirley, a Ronald Reagan biographer and a former campaign operative for Reagan and the elder Bush. “It’s the worst-kept secret in the GOP. It’s more about family than it is about party. They are the Corleones of the Republican Party.”

And it’s not just the Bushes reluctance to back Donald Trump or to support down-ballot Republicans that has their legacy as Republicans looking tarnished.

The policy records of the two Bush presidents were marked by significant diversions from conservative policy.

The elder Bush won election in 1988 by making one of the most memorable pledges in modern history — “No new taxes” — and promising the Democrats would ask and ask again until he told them to read his lips: “No. New. Taxes.”

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Yet faced with a stubborn deficit, a liberal Congress, and a sour 1990 economy, Bush caved to Democrats in 1990 and raised income taxes. Then-Democratic nominee Bill Clinton taunted Bush with the reversal throughout 1992 and Bush lost re-election.

President George W. Bush never forgot this lesson. He ran in 2000 promising to cut taxes but never made a pledge. George W. Bush never raised taxes. He famously cut taxes for 10 years, and handed out two tax rebates — in 2001 and 2008.

But while the tax record of George W. Bush is more conservative than that of his father, the younger Bush failed on other conservative measures.

Bush had a Republican Congress for most of his tenure, but failed to tame deficit spending.

On immigration, Bush regularly lectured his party on the morality of accepting more immigrants.

In fact in 2008, Bush broke a single-year record by naturalizing 1,050,000 new citizens right before the election. Newly naturalized citizens cast their ballots in very lopsided fashion for Democrats.

Eight years later President George W. Bush is doing what many Bushes do: hanging with the Democrats, looking “kinder and gentler” — and nicer. Protection of the Bush legacy means nuzzling with Democrats at awkward times for the GOP.

Over the weekend, Bush couldn’t help but cozy up with first lady Michelle Obama.

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Jeb Bush has played this card too. Jeb Bush awarded Hillary Clinton the “Liberty Medal” from the National Constitution Center, around the one-year anniversary of the Benghazi incident, and as he prepared a presidential run.

The political miscue infuriated many right-leaning voters in the GOP. Jeb Bush couldn’t use Trump’s past Democratic donations against Trump, as his transgression was more recent.

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One thing to be observed about the 2016 Republican primary is inescapable: The public, for now, is exhausted by 12 years of Bush administrations within the last 26 years. It cannot be denied. All Trump had to do was label Jeb Bush “low energy,” and his numbers fell.

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The Bushes have a problem with pledges and they have let themselves drift away from the GOP. They often seem to need interpreters to understand the Republican base. Jeb Bush famously helped kill his campaign early when he said illegal immigration was an “act of love.”

It isn’t a reflection on the GOP. It is, however, a statement on the Bush family: They seem to cling better with the Democrats than the GOP in off years, and it was noticed long ago by Republicans.

“The Bushes are hurting themselves,” said Shirley. “Party loyalty counts for everything for elected officials.”