George Bush’s daughter endorses Harris in US presidential election

Barbara Bush, one of Republican former United States President George W. Bush’s daughters, has thrown her weight behind Kamala Harris, the Democrat candidate for the razor-thin race to the White House.

According to People magazine, Barbara was on Harris’ campaign trail over the weekend after endorsing the incumbent Vice President against former President Donald Trump – the Republican flag-bearer.

The 42-year-old Barbara spent part of the weekend knocking on doors for the Democratic candidate’s campaign in Pennsylvania, one of the seven swing states touted to decide the November 5 contest.

“It was inspiring to join friends and meet voters with the Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania this weekend.

“I’m hopeful they’ll move our country forward and protect women’s rights,” she told People.

Though described as an independent, Barbara comes from a Republican family, with her later grandfather, George H.W. Bush also serving as president.

Bush, other Republicans ignore Trump

Her endorsement aligns with the decision of a small vocal group of prominent Republicans, turned off by Trump’s extreme rhetoric on subjects ranging from abortion to migration and democracy, to back Harris for the plum job.

Barbara’s father, George W. Bush, has so far refused to endorse a candidate in 2024, and has remained tight-lipped on politics since his tenure in the Oval Office ended in 2009.

Harris has already received the endorsement of George’s vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter, a former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, who has campaigned with the Democratic candidate.

Barbara Bush, whose fraternal twin sister Jenna works for NBC, has been outspoken on her abortion views and previous advocated for Planned Parenthood, the leading reproductive health organisation and advocacy group in the US.

Trump has boasted that that his picks for Supreme Court justices created the pathway for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the end of federal protections for abortion access.

Since the 2022 court ruling, no fewer than 20 US states have brought in full or partial restrictions, making abortion one of the issues in the November contest.