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During a recent interview, former president George Bush talked with Jimmy Kimmel about his friendship with Michelle Obama. Speaking on the special bond he and the former first lady have, Bush lightheartedly shared that cracking a few jokes here and there while at funerals helped the two become pals.
After laughing at a 4/20 reference with him and some talk about Trump (“remember that guy”), Kimmel prodded Bush to share some details on his chummy relationship with Michelle. Noting that the two aren’t so close that they have each other’s phone numbers, the former president shared that he and her became pals due to the “protocol” of their assigned seating arrangement when at events.
“Here’s the thing,” he told the host. “I go to a lot of funerals and so does she. Because of protocol, I’m always stuck next to her, or she’s always stuck next to me. I get a little antsy during the long-winded eulogies so I start cracking a few jokes — funeral jokes — and she seems to think they’re funny so I’m delighted.”
As the story goes, Michelle and Bush also bonded when the latter offered the former a mint during his own father’s funeral. Funnily, when Kimmel asked if Barack had a similar relationship with his wife Laura, Bush simply (and a bit dryly) responded, “No, he doesn’t sit next to her at the funerals.”
Back in 2019 during an appearance on the Today Show, Michelle gave some insight on her friendly dynamic with Bush at that time. While speaking to his daughter, Jena Bush Hager, the former first lady said, “I had the opportunity to sit by your father at funerals — the highs and the lows — and we shared stories about our kids and about our parents. Our values are the same. We disagreed on policy, but we don’t disagree on humanity. We don’t disagree about love and compassion. I think that’s true for all of us, it’s just that we get lost in our fear of what’s different.”
