Touching moment George W Bush sneaks a piece of candy to Michelle Obama at John McCain's memorial service

George W Bush passes sweet to Michelle Obama at John McCain's memorial service
Msnbc
Hatty Collier2 September 2018

Former president George W. Bush appeared to pass a sweet to Michelle Obama in a touching moment at John McCain’s memorial service.

A clip, which appears to show Bush, 72, passing a piece of candy to the former first lady, has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media.

The television cameras caught the touching moment after panning away from Joe Lieberman’s eulogy to the front pew where Bush and his wife Laura were sitting with the Obamas.

Bush was seen taking the sweet from his wife and then discreetly passing it on to Obama as her husband Barack nodded approvingly.

The former first lady told Bush “thank you” as she accepted the candy during the tender moment which one viewer described as a “sweet and hard metaphor for all we have lost in politics.”

Roland Scahill tweeted a clip of the moment with the caption: “George W. Bush sneaking a piece of candy to Michelle Obama is warming my heart.”

CBS Sunday Morning's Faith Salie said: "George Bush slipping candy to Michelle Obama is a sweet & hard metaphor for all we have lost in politics."

Ben Harris said: "I'd totally watch a travel show where George Bush and Michelle Obama go abroad and get up to wacky adventures." He later tweeted: "Name a more iconic duo."

Ben Chang tweeted: "George Bush sharing a mint with Michelle Obama is everything."

Despite being on opposing sides of the political spectrum, former first lady Obama and Bush have a close friendship and it has played out in public on several occasions.

They were photographed embracing during the inauguration of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in September 2016. Speaking about that moment during an interview, Bush said: "You know I probably have a few wisecracks and she seemed to like it OK and when I saw her it was a genuine expression of affection."

Former first lady Michelle Obama embraces former president George Bush
Getty Images

They were also seen holding hands and singing to one another during a memorial service for five slain police officers in Dallas a few months earlier.

John McCain's memorial service took place on Saturday
EPA

Speaking about their friendship last year to People, Bush said he had developed a light-hearted rapport with the former first lady.

"Anybody who likes my sense of humour, I immediately like." He added: "I'm fairly lighthearted. The Obamas are around serious people all the time and we just took to each other."

Former presidents Bush and Obama, once political rivals of McCain, both paid tribute to him during eulogies at his memorial service on Saturday.

They joined his daughter Meghan in rebuking Donald Trump, who feuded publicly with McCain for years and mocked his military service even after he grew ill.

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