George W. Bush Brings Latest Book Tour to Fox News for Dana Perino Special

Photo by Grant Miller / Courtesy George W. Bush Presidential Center

Former President George W. Bush, whose recent comments about immigration have made headlines, will be interviewed on Fox News this Sunday, where he will talk with Dana Perino about his new book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.

The book by the 43rd president features stories and oil paintings of 43 immigrants, including an orphan from North Korea, a refugee from Cambodia, and a refugee from Lebanon.

“The president is clear in his book that he wanted to encourage everyone to remember the people who choose to come to the country legally and they all contribute, even while Congress continues to grapple (or not) with immigration policy and legal reform,” Perino told Mediaite. “As a former president, proud American, and now an artist, he has a very creative way to do that through his portraiture.”

Since leaving office, Bush has been painting portraits of veterans, world leaders, and even himself, and his artwork has gone from being a much-mocked hacking target to a highly-praised book on the New York Times best-seller list.

Perino, who served as press secretary during the Bush administration, was happy to reunite with her former boss.

“It is always a great joy to see President Bush,” Perino said. “I pinch myself that I ever got to work for the American people at the White House, and that I now can also call my former boss my friend as well. He’s incredibly wise and thoughtful, and very supportive of all of us who worked for him. He keeps tab on his former staffers – and keeps us laughing, too.”

Perino said that of the most memorable stories in Bush’s book is from Dina Powell, a Coptic Christian who came with her family to the U.S. as a child, and who later served as an adviser in the Bush White House.

“There’s a lovely story the President tells in our special about Dina’s father – how when he accompanied Dina to a dinner at a wealthy man’s home in Dallas, he said, ‘I’ve been to this house before,’” Perino told Mediaite. “Dina said no dad, I’d have known if you’d been here. And he said, ‘I used to mow this lawn.’ But that night, he was coming for dinner.”

“I wish I could have interviewed more than the four I sat down with,” Perino also said. “They have incredible stories of resilience, courage, and patriotism.”

Bush first announced the project in August 2020.

“Today, I’m pleased to announce a new book and exhibit at The Bush Center honoring new Americans who have contributed to the cultural richness, economic vitality, entrepreneurial spirit, and renewed patriotism of our country,” Bush said at the time in an Instagram post. “My hope is that Out of Many, One will help focus our collective attention on the positive effects that immigrants have on our country.”

The former president has largely stayed out of politics since leaving office, although he recently entered the fray in an interview with NBC’s Today show. He condemned the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol, saying it made him “sick.” He also told host Hoda Kotb that he finds the current state of the Republican party as “isolationist, protectionist, and to a certain extent nativist.”

“It’s not exactly my vision,” said Bush, who is a Republican. “But I’m just an old guy they put out to pasture.”

Perino’s interview with Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush will air on Fox News on Sunday at 10:00 p.m. EST.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!