The first lady Melania Trump was the presentation of the presentation of a seal of the United States postal service in honor of former First Lady Barbara Bush in the White House on Thursday, with a notable absence of former President George W. Bush.
Several relatives and friends of Bush’s family, including Neil Bush and Dorothy Bush Koch, filled the East Room for the event in honor of the former First Lady, who died in 2018 at the age of 92.
Dorothy Bush Koch, the youngest daughter of the 41st president and first lady, spoke about the impact of her mother on the transformation of the White House into a “true home.”
Melania Trump, who has made few appearances in Washington during the first three months of her husband in office, celebrated Barbara Bush’s political and family life.
“The legacy of Mrs. Bush is marked by her respect for tradition and is also breaking with the convention,” said Melania Trump.
First Lady Melania Trump and Dorothy Bush Koch have a seal of the United States postal service in honor of former first lady Barbara Bush, on May 8, 2025, in the East Hall of the White House in Washington, DC
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Other children from Bush, George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, did not attend the event.
George W. Bush, who has maintained a relatively low profile since he left office, was in Washington for the inauguration of President Donald Trump earlier this year. He was sitting near former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and former President Barack Obama.
But otherwise he has kept Trump, a republican partner, with his arm and both have a story of mutual criticism.
ABC News contacted George W. Bush’s office to comment on Thursday’s event.
George W. Bush did not support Trump in any of his presidential campaigns. In 2020, he said he did not vote for Trump or Joe Biden, but wrote in Condoleezza Rice, who served as his Secretary of State between 2005 and 2009.
He and his father, the late President George Hw Bush, criticized Trump in a 2017 book, in which they expressed concern about their impact on the Republican Party and conservative values. In a rare public speech that same year, George W. Bush condemned the policy mark adopted by Trump and his supporters, although he did not explicitly mention Trump by name.
Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and former President Barack Obama attend the inauguration of Donald Trump at Capitol Rotonda, on January 20, 2025.
Saul Loeb/Pool/Getty Images
Barbara Bush once said about Trump: “I don’t understand why people are for him.”
Trump’s criticisms of the Bush family increased during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries as he advanced to Jeb Bush as “low energy.” He later boasted to overcome the “Bush dynasty” after his electoral victory.
Trump has also repeatedly criticized George W. Bush’s response to terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the Iraq war.
“Bush led a failed and little inspiring presidency. He shouldn’t give a conference to anyone!” Trump said in 2021 after George W. Bush delivered a speech of the twenty -anniversary in which he warned that domestic terrorism represented as much threat as foreign terrorists.
