Former President George W. Bush, at Florida Atlantic University, weighs in on 2024 election and Israel-Hamas war

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Former President George W. Bush intends to vote in the 2024 presidential election, but he might write in the name of his brother, Jeb Bush — or his late Scottish terrier, Barney.

Though joking, Bush echoed a concern many Americans cite about two of the prospective candidates: their age.

“I predict that most Americans think we’re too damn old at the top,” Bush, 77, said. “I’m too old to be president. I know what it takes to be president, and I’m younger than Biden and Trump.”

Bush is about four years younger than current President Joe Biden and about one month younger than former President Donald Trump.

Bush’s humor was met with laughs from a crowd of about 1,000 who came to see him speak at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton on Tuesday as part of a two-day event called NobleCon, centered around economic growth, businesses and investment. In addition to Bush’s thoughts about the upcoming presidential race, he engaged in a wide-ranging discussion about the Israel-Hamas war, the Ukraine-Russia war, immigration, the nation’s debt and foreign affairs.

Bush, the former Republican president, isn’t known for frequent public appearances, instead spending much of his time in his Texas home painting, a hobby he picked up after his presidency. He’s intentionally not giving his public opinion on every political issue in existence, he said.

“I think former presidents criticizing their successors is a cheap shot,” he said. “I’m content to be out of the limelight.”

Michael Kupinski, the director of research at Noble Capital Markets, a boutique investment bank based and headquartered in Boca Raton, and Bush’s interviewer, said in the past, NobleCon hosted Jeb Bush, George W. Bush’s brother and the former governor of Florida, which impacted George W. Bush’s agreement to speak.

Bush is the most influential keynote speaker NobleCon has ever had, Kupinski said.

Kupinski started out the conversation by asking Bush about his family, including his late father, George H.W. Bush, who served as the 41st U.S. president.

“I never would have run for office if he had been a lousy father,” Bush said. “I’m a very fortunate guy. I’ve had two wonderful parents both alive during my presidency.”

Kupinski then moved on to talking about current events, starting out by asking Bush about his thoughts on the Ukraine-Russia war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bush said the digital age hurts people’s ability to see the emotion behind electronic exchanges, limiting people from understanding what those around them truly think and feel, which extends to world leaders.

“The key thing in life is to try to figure out the motivation of the other person, and particularly if you’re president in dealing with leaders from around the world, and the motivation for him (Putin) was to try to reinstate Russian glory,” he said. “It seems to me that this country (America) values freedom and democracy, that we have an obligation not only for the people of Ukraine, but for our own people to defend Ukraine against the autocracy, no matter the price.”

Seeking and strengthening foreign alliances was a point Bush addressed during the talk, something he also dealt with enormously during his two-term presidency from 2001 to 2009 as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“The lesson of 9/11 still stands, how others live matters to our security,” he said. “There are people who hate freedom and are willing to do harm to free societies.”

When Kupinski asked Bush about the Israel-Hamas war, Bush said he believes America has responded the correct way by defending Israel.

“Americans don’t want to see young children hurt, and it’s created a lot of emotion,” he said. “I just hope we don’t lose sight of the right of a democracy to defend herself against people who want to destroy it.”

In terms of domestic issues, Bush said America is on a path toward self-correction. But this requires fixing broken systems, such as immigration.

“There needs to be an orderly way of people coming into our country to do jobs Americans will not do in order for our economy to grow,” he said. “And that’s a worker-visa program that frankly we tried to implement when I was president, and it got defeated.”

The issue of immigration is exploited by Republic and Democratic politicians alike, Bush said.

“Both sides view it as a favorable political issue, which means nothing’s going to get done for a while,” he said. “I hope Americans keep their eye on the beauty of immigration as for what it means for our soul as a nation.”

Similarly, Bush blamed the country’s growing debt problem on both sides of the political-party coin, saying the responsibility of reigning in debt lies on the president.

“The last two administrations had no concern for debt and what it could do to the future,” he said. “The president has got to be the one pushing for fiscal responsibility. … The debt’s gone nuts, and it’s going to be a real problem for a generation coming up, particularly when interest payments are larger than defense payments, for example.”

The keys to the presidency, according to Bush? Humility and a mastery of history. And perhaps not being too old.

Though Bush did not indicate where his actual 2024 presidential candidate vote will lie, he criticized the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021, saying it was a “terrible moment” that he was ashamed to watch.

“So long as our democracy is vibrant, we will heal,” he said. “Turnouts in the last elections have been gigantic, which is an unbelievably positive sign.”

“That ought to give you some sense of optimism about the future because most people are sick and tired of what’s going on right now in the present.”