The former U.S. President George W. Bush sent the social media into meltdown after he playfully gave former First Lady Michelle Obama a piece of candy during Senator John McCain’s funeral.
The TV cameras captured the heartwarming moment during Joe Lieberman’s eulogy at McCain’s memorial service in Washington National Cathedral.
Bush can be seen taking the piece of candy from his wife, former First Lady Laura Bush. He then discreetly handed it to Michelle Obama, who was seated to his right.
Michelle can be seen telling him “Thank you”, while her husband, former President Barack Obama looked on approvingly.
This heartwarming moment inspired many social media users who said that it represented a time when civility was the norm in politics.
One user Tweeted:
“Seeing George Bush smuggle a piece of candy from his wife Laura to Michelle Obama while trying to be discreet gives me faith in the future of our Republic”
Another one added:
“The camera just cut away from Joe Lieberman’s joke about John McCain to Laura Bush just passing a hard church candy to Michelle Obama thru George Bush and it might be the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen”
“George Bush sharing a mint with Michelle Obama is everything.”
The friendship between the former president and the wife of his successor has played out in public on a few occasions, most notably when the two were photographed as Michelle embraced former President Bush during the inauguration of Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016. The image went viral back then, as they were seen holding hands and singing to one another a few months earlier during a memorial service for five police officers.
Bush was then criticized for not acting appropriately during a solemn occasion, as he was evidently enjoying himself.
“I can’t remember where else I’ve sat next to her, but I probably have a few wise cracks and she seemed to like it okay” – says Bush.
“Anybody who likes my sense of humor, I immediately like.
I needle her a little bit and around her, I’m fairly lighthearted. [The Obamas] are around serious people all the time and we just took to each other.” – he added.
Former Presidents Bush and Obama praised once-rival McCain in their eulogies on Saturday and joined his daughter in the not-so-subtle rebukes of President Donald Trump.
Trump publicly feuded with McCain for years and mocked his military service.
McCain, the former Republican senator from Arizona, died on August 25 from brain cancer. Trump, also a Republican, spent Saturday on his private golf club in Virginia.