The warm friendship between former first lady Michelle Obama and former President George W. Bush was on display once again Thursday during the opening ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Before the event began, Bush handed Obama a tin of Altoids, a playful nod to one of their most memorable viral moments from Sen. John McCain’s funeral in 2018. During that service, Bush was seen discreetly passing Obama what was later described as a cough drop.
After that exchange drew widespread attention, Obama explained the moment during an appearance on NBC’s “Today.”
“President Bush and I, we are forever seatmates because of protocol, that’s how we sit at all the official functions, so he is my partner in crime at every major thing where all the ‘formers’ gather,” she said. “It was a simple gesture. He was getting a cough drop from Laura, and I looked over and I said, ‘Hand me a cough drop.’”
Obama has also spoken warmly about Bush, calling him “a wonderful man” and “a funny man.”
“I love him to death,” she said.
In a recent interview with his daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, Bush referred to what he handed Obama at McCain’s funeral as an Altoid.
But whether it was a cough drop or a mint, the sentiment remains.
“It turns out the country is starved to see a White center-right Republican and an African American center-left Democrat having fun and being able to converse, not as political figures, but as citizens,” Bush said.
And the gift on Thursday appeared to be well received, with Obama smiling and holding up the tin in a photo with Bush.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais-Pool / Getty Images 
Bush and his wife, former first lady Laura Bush, along with the other “formers” — Bill and Hillary Clinton and Joe and Jill Biden — sat with the Obamas on the stage at the presidential center ceremony Thursday.
