Former President George W. Bush Is Alive and Well Despite What You've Heard

President George W. Bush has a complicated legacy. He served two terms in office, but the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, and the financial criis helped ensure that he left office with record low approval ratings. Following Bush's departure, though, and the arrival of Donald Trump, some began to look at Bush's legacy more positively.

Now, in 2025, rumors are swirling that the former president has died. Here's what we know about whether that's actually true:

There is no evidence that the former president is actually dead. Rumors might be swirling online, but those rumors are designed only to farm engagement and are not based in reality.

When a former president dies it's a major news event and is typically accompanied by a state funeral. While you may have heard chatter about Bush's death on social media, the news hasn't been reported by any official outfits.

While many former presidents have remained public figures in the decades after they left the White House, Bush has been among the most reserved, spending most of his time out of the public eye and focusing on painting among other hobbies.

There has been no indication, though, that the former president's health is failing, so Bush is likely to be alive and well for the foreseeable future.

One of the reasons Bush is less outspoken than other former presidents is that the Republican Party of today does not even remotely resemble the one he led in the early part of the 21st century.

Bush was a moderate on immigration and often talked about "compassionate Conservatism." Today, Trump's Republican Party has defined itself by being hardline on immigration and often cruel to people who oppose them.

In fact, Trump came to power in 2015 in part by suggesting that Republicans needed to move away from Bush's model of Conservatism.

Trump fundamentally transformed the Republican Party, but Bush has been hesitant to speak out and endorse Democratic candidates.

Bush's severe unpopularity when he left office may also explain, at least to some extent, why he has mostly stepped away from public life. He doesn't have the kind of popular constituency he did when he won two elections.

Death hoaxes are a great way to drum up engagement, especially when the figure you're using is someone who is not spotted in public very often.

Of course, Bush and his wife Laura were just recently at the funeral for Jimmy Carter, another former president who died at the age of 100. Their appearance there suggested that they were both in good health, and there's no reason to believe otherwise. Bush will eventually get a state funeral just like the one he recently attended, but it doesn't seem like that funeral will be coming anytime soon.