Barbara Bush, matriarch of a GOP political dynasty, said she was no longer a Republican in the Trump era
- The late former first lady Barbara Bush said she was "probably" no longer a Republican because of President Donald Trump, according to a new book.
- "After Trump's rise, she saw it as a party she could not continue to support, a party she no longer recognized - even as one of her grandsons, George P. Bush, was on the ballot as a Republican running for re-election as Texas land commissioner," author Susan Page wrote.
- The book, "The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty," hits bookshelves on April 2.
The late former first lady Barbara Bush said that President Donald Trump drove her away from the Republican party, according to a new book, "The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty," which is set to hit bookshelves on April 2.
In October 2017, Bush said yes when asked if she would still consider herself a Republican. By February 2018, when asked the same question, Bush said, "I'd probably say no today."
"That was a stunning acknowledgment. Barbara Bush had been one of the most recognizable faces of the Republican Party through two presidencies. She was the matriarch of one of the GOP's leading families," author Susan Page wrote.
Read more: Meet the Bush family: A guide to America's preeminent political dynasty
Page added, "But after Trump's rise, she saw it as a party she could not continue to support, a party she no longer recognized - even as one of her grandsons, George P. Bush, was on the ballot as a Republican running for re-election as Texas land commissioner."
Bush's departure from the GOP was emblematic of the "aftershocks of the earthquake that was the 2016 election," Page went on to say.
The former first lady passed away last April. Her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, died in November.
Read more: The most powerful images from the nation's remembrance of President George HW Bush
The Bush family, including former President George W. Bush, have by-and-large continued to stand with the GOP.
But the younger Bush president has at times delivered veiled rebukes of the current occupant of the White House, and he's reportedly remarked that Trump makes him look "pretty good by comparison" in private conversations.
Despite apparent differences between the GOP of the Bush family and the party under Trump, the elder Bush president wanted Trump at his funeral to send a message about unity. This was notable given the late Republican Sen. John McCain, who Trump continues to attack after death, did not want the president at his funeral.