Former President George W. Bush had every intention of sticking to his self-imposed exile from politics, but found that the phone kept ringing with appeals from Republican US Senate candidates for help, friends say. As a result, Bush has embarked on a rescue mission to try to preserve the Republicans' narrow Senate majority in a year in which many party figures fear presumptive nominee Donald Trump will drag them down to defeat in the November 8 elections.
Republicans control 54 seats in the 100-member Senate. "I think that this is a one-off, temporary thing that where he can be helpful he will be," said Dana Perino, who was Bush's White House press secretary. Condoleezza Rice, who was Bush's secretary of state and is now a political science professor at Stanford University, is also raising money for Republican candidates, but on Friday ruled out speculation that she might be drafted as Trump's vice presidential running mate.
"Dr Rice has repeatedly said in past cycles as well as this one, she's not interested in being vice president. She's happy at Stanford and plans to stay," said Rice chief of staff Georgia Godfrey. Friends say Bush was initially reluctant to get involved, feeling his time in the limelight had passed. They said he was surprised at the appeals he was receiving to get back into politics more than seven years after his eight-year White House run ended.
So far Bush has headlined fund-raising events for Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. He plans to help senators Rob Portman of Ohio, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Roy Blunt of Missouri. Bush is no fan of Trump, but to a certain extent, he is doing Trump a favor in spite of the continuing antagonism toward the Bush family from the bellicose New York businessman.