Barbara Bush, the former first lady and mother of Jeb Bush, was so popular in New Hampshire that her son’s campaign is bringing her back on the trail.
The former Florida governor accidentally announced his mother’s return in a press gaggle Tuesday following an employee town hall at FN Manufacturing here.
“That’s not announced yet?” Bush said after spilling the beans and turning to his spokeswoman Kristy Campbell.
“It will be announced,” Campbell said. “Thursday, she’s coming in Thursday night and she’s staying until the primary.”
“I blew it,” Bush joked. “Always here to help.”
Barbara Bush, 90, drew a big crowd when she appeared at a town hall in Derry, New Hampshire, just days before the state’s primary earlier this month. She also took part in interviews, starred in a campaign video, and stopped at a diner with her son to do some retail politicking in the midst of a big snowstorm.
“This is a little easier trip for her with this kind of weather,” Bush said, looking up at the clear blue sky.
A source close to the campaign told CNN that they expect the former first lady to do some campaign events on Thursday and Friday. Her visit will come just a few days after Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, headlined a big rally with Jeb in North Charleston on Monday. The visits underscore the campaign’s strategy to highlight the Bush family name, which is very popular in South Carolina.
Jeb Bush was asked about his parents just minutes earlier at the town hall.
“My mom and dad are doing pretty good. My mom is 90 years old and she’s walking with a stroller. She has ‘Jeb’ bumper stickers. She forces people to take them. She sternly tells them that they can’t just put them away somewhere, they have to put them on their cars,” he said. “And so she’s a grassroots supporter.”