Overview
- Photographs show former President George W. Bush giving Michelle Obama a tin of Altoids before the June 18 dedication of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
- Bush's daughter Jenna Bush Hager had said he “ordered a case of Altoids,” confirming the exchange was arranged in advance rather than spontaneous.
- Pool and agency images captured the moment and group photos of the living presidents and first ladies on stage with the Obamas.
- Coverage notes a small discrepancy about the original 2018 item at Sen. John McCain’s funeral, which was variously described as a cough drop or an Altoid, but outlets focus on the symbolic meaning of the reenactment.
- Reporters frame the exchange as a media-friendly emblem of civility that highlights a warm personal rapport between the two despite political differences and that occurred during the high-profile opening, which President Donald Trump and Melania Trump did not attend.