Former President George W. Bush To Attend Trump Inauguration After All

AUSTIN, TX — Former President George W. Bush — the target of much criticism by Donald Trump during the businessman's political campaign — will attend the president-elect's inauguration later this month, according to a published report.

The Texas Tribune reports that Bush will make the trip to Washington, D.C. for the Jan. 20 inauguration with his wife, Laura, according to a statement from his office on Tuesday.

"They are pleased to be able to witness the peaceful transfer of power — a hallmark of American democracy — and swearing-in of President Trump and Vice President Pence," the statement read in part.

The Bush clan conspicuously didn't support Trump as he neared the nomination of his party for president, neither Bush nor his father, George W. Bush or his brother, the former governor of Florida Jeb Bush, offering an official endorsement for Trump.

For his part, Trump was brutal in his assessment of his rival, Jeb Bush, for the presidency. He took to calling the former governor "low energy" as part of his penchant for nicknaming his political opponents with pejorative sobriquets. He also "went there" as it related to former President George W. Bush, reminding audience members at debates of the 9/11 attacks that occurred on his watch — a historical fact, but a reference considered taboo in Republican circles.

Trump also made much mention of the former president's decision to enter into a war with Iraq after the terror attacks, despite their non-involvement in the attacks, under the guise of searching for weapons of mass destruction that were never found — another hotly debated decision to this day that serves to polarize even Republicans as to its efficacy.

But things between Trump and Jeb got truly ugly. At one point during their Twitter feud, Trump tweeted that Jeb would be weak on illegal immigration, intimating a sweet spot for undocumented immigrants because his wife, Columba Bush, was born in León, Mexico. The tweet read: “[Jeb Bush] has to like the Mexican illegals because of wife.”

The tweet brought their feud to a boil, and Trump uncharacteristically ended up deleting it before it was saved by some media outlets in a screen shot. Some critics pointed to the inappropriateness of the tweet, particularly given that Trump himself is married to an immigrant, his wife, Melania, in the now-dissolved Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

When Jeb Bush lightheartedly mentioned his mother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, was "ready to rumble" in terms of her support for him in January, Trump took to Twitter again, mocking his former rival for essentially running to his "mommy" for help in his failing campaign.

Save for Jeb's son, the Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, none of the other Bush family members supported Trump and none of the family members attended the GOP convention that officially nominated him for the presidency. It was George P. Bush that struck the first, early conciliatory note in August as it began to seem clear Trump was headed toward the nomination.

“From Team Bush, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but you know what? You get back up and you help the man that won, and you make sure that we stop Hillary Clinton,” George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner, told GOP activists in August.

By November, Bush family members followed traditional political protocol in calling Trump to congratulate him on his nomination. Trump ensured that all knew of this via his preferred mode of communication, Twitter:

It now appears other Bush members are falling into place with their full-fledged support, albeit perhaps begrudgingly, in wishing him success running the country. Before Tuesday, the only former U.S. president who had confirmed to attend Trump's inauguration was Jimmy Carter.

On Tuesday afternoon, both Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, also disclosed they would attend Trump's inauguration. The pair will be in attendance as a show of unity toward healing a divided country, according to CNN.

>>> Photo by Rick Uldricks, Patch staff