George W. Bush Reveals Why the Country Was ‘Starved’ for His 'Trending’ Michelle Obama Moment

During a recent appearance on NBC's Today show, former President George W. Bush spoke about a much-talked about incident from 2018 involving former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The incident being discussed is Bush quietly handing over an Altoid to Michelle during Sen. John McCain’s funeral. What seemed like a simple, friendly gesture quickly went viral.

Speaking to his daughter and Today host Jenna Bush Hager, Bush reflected on the incident and shed light on why people found it trend-worthy.

Recalling the Altoid moment with Michelle, Bush told Hager that the gesture was not intended as a joke.

"I slipped her an Altoid — not as a joke — but I thought she [Michelle] might want one. I got in the car afterwards, and she said 'You're trending.' I didn't know what she meant," he said.

Stating that he did not understand what "trending" meant at the time, Bush said he later realized that the moment resonated with the people because it showed a friendly interaction across political lines.

Bush said, “It turns out the country is starved to see a center-right Republican and an African American center-left Democrat having fun and being able to converse, not as political figures, but as citizens.”

He opined that their interaction started trending since people aren't habituated to seeing a Republican and a Democrat connect in a simple, humane way.

Bush said that he often sits next to Michelle at formal events following the incident.

When the viral moment occurred in 2018, Michelle appeared on Today with hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie to discuss it.

During the interaction, Michelle said that she and Bush "are forever seatmates because of protocol." She added, "He is my partner in crime at every major thing where all the formers gather. So we're together all the time, and I love him to death."

She described Bush as "a wonderful" and "funny man" before recounting her version of the incident.

"It was a simple gesture. He was getting a cough drop from Laura Bush and I looked over and I said, 'Hand me a cough drop.' I will add that they were old cough drops," Michelle said.

"That's the funny thing, 'cause they were in the little White House box, the Altoids, and I was like, 'How long have you had these?'" she stated.

Guthrie then said of the moment, "It's one of those moments where people felt like, 'Oh, there's a bipartisan moment even with something as simple as a cough drop.'"

Following this, Michelle replied, “That's why it matters so much. That's what people are hungry for,” stressing that people love to see connection.

"They're hungry for what we all know — party doesn't separate us. Color, gender...those kinds of things don't separate us. It's the messages that we send," the former first lady added.