Following Obama's lead, George W. Bush is hitting the campaign trail ahead of the November midterms

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September 12, 2018 3:53 AM

Following former President Barack Obama's lead, George W. Bush is getting back on the campaign trail ahead of the November midterm elections with planned appearances in support of Republicans, including a House incumbent in Texas, and Gov. Rick Scott, who is seeking a Senate seat in Florida.

Former President George W. Bush is set to headline some fundraising events for Republican candidates ahead of the November midterm elections.

Bush will hold closed-door fundraisers in Texas and Florida this week and next week in support of House and Senate candidates, Politico reported Tuesday. Republicans are looking to the 43rd president to help bolster candidates in key races, and help the party hold on to its majorities in Congress.

Bush follows former President Barack Obama, who began campaigning for Democratic Party candidates, and publicly rebuking President Donald Trump, for the first time in earnest last week.

Bush has only been quietly critical of Trump, and has never called him out by name, but in an October 2017 speech, he took a veiled shot at Trump saying, "we've seen nationalism distorted into nativism," and the "return to isolation sentiments and forgetting that American security is directly threatened by the chaos and despair of distant places."

The comments were a reference to the Trump administration's push away from longtime allies and norms in favor of what observers have called an isolationist agenda.

On Friday, Bush is scheduled to host a fundraiser for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for a Senate seat there.

Trump endorsed Scott in the primary, but Scott has been distancing himself from Trump in recent days, CNN reported on Tuesday, as turmoil surrounds the current administration and the president's job-approval rating sinks to new lows.

Trump has backed the Republican candidate vying to take Scott's keys to the Florida governor's mansion.

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