"The President told me he's voting for Hillary!!"
That's what a prominent member of the Kennedy family, ex-Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, said as she took to her Facebook account to tell the world of the rather-shocking news.
In a rare showing in America's highly-partisan political landscape, former President George H.W. Bush is said to be crossing party lines in order to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Huffington Post said. This was according to Townsend, who goes by Kathleen Hartington on Facebook.
Townsend posed for a picture with the elder Bush - long seen a figurehead of the Republican establishment, and posted the picture on her Facebook account with the controversial caption. However, the former president's spokesperson Jim McGrath neither confirmed nor denied the claims.
"The vote President Bush will cast as a private citizen in some 50 days will be just that: a private vote cast in some 50 days...He is not commenting on the presidential race in the interim," told McGrath in an interview with CNN.
Townsend, for her part, stood by her claim when pressed further on the issue. "That's what [Bush] said," according to the daughter of ex-Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 while running as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate at the time.
It is understood that the elder Bush and prominent members of his family, who are all known Republicans, have refused to endorse the party's presidential candidate Donald Trump. His son, former President George W. Bush, remains mum on his choice for President.
For former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush though, the case is different. The erstwhile candidate for the Republican nomination repeatedly locked horns with Trump, as he constantly criticized the real estate mogul for his oft-unbecoming stand on key national issues and outrageous remarks.
Former members coming from both Bush presidencies have since expressed their support for Clinton. The likes of ex-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, ex-national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, and ex-Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez all count as among her Republican supporters.
