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Former President George W. Bush shared a lighthearted reunion moment with Michelle Obama during the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Thursday, June 18, when he gifted the former first lady a tin of Altoid mints.
The playful exchange, captured behind the scenes before the Obamas took the stage at the star-studded ceremony, echoed a now famous moment between the two that first went viral in 2018 during the funeral service for late Senator John McCain.
At that service, Bush was seated next to Michelle Obama, and a brief interaction between them became widely shared online after he handed her a mint.
Reflecting on the moment earlier this year in an interview with his daughter, Today show host Jenna Bush Hager, the former president explained that the gesture was not planned as a joke but as a simple act of kindness.
"I get a little antsy, as I'm sure you know, and I was sitting next to Michelle. That's who I sit next to at funerals," Bush, 79, said. "And I was kind of teasing her and stuff, and I slipped her an Altoid. Not as a joke, but I thought she might want one."
Bush added that he later learned the moment had gone viral. "And I got in the car afterwards, and you said, 'You're trending,'" he recalled. "I didn't know what trending meant."
Ahead of the Obama Center event, Jenna Bush Hager also teased the return of the mint tradition on the Today show, noting that her father had prepared in advance. "He's ordered a case of Altoids, and he'll be bringing that to Mrs. Obama," she told co-host Savannah Guthrie.
On Thursday, an Associated Press photographer captured the reunion backstage as all living former presidents and first ladies gathered for the historic occasion, with the exception of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who were not invited.
As Bush presented the mints to Michelle Obama, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were seen smiling and laughing nearby. The moment ended with Bush and Michelle Obama sharing a warm embrace.
Other attendees included former President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former first lady Laura Bush, all of whom were present as the celebration got underway.
The event marked a rare gathering of multiple presidential families, highlighting a moment of unity and nostalgia as the Obama Presidential Center officially opened its doors in Chicago.
