Since leaving office, Bush has kept a relatively low profile.^[9] Bush has spoken in favor of increased global participation of women in politics and societal matters in foreign countries.^[10][11]

In March 2009, he delivered his first post-presidency speech in Calgary, Alberta,^[12][13] appeared via video on The Colbert Report during which he praised U.S. troops for earning a "special place in American history",^[14] and attended the funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy.^[15] Bush made his debut as a motivational speaker on October 26 at the "Get Motivated" seminar in Dallas.^[16] In the aftermath of the Fort Hood shooting on November 5, 2009, the Bushes paid an undisclosed visit to the survivors and the victims' families the day following the shooting, having contacted the base commander requesting that the visit be private and not involve press coverage.^[17]

Bush released his memoirs, Decision Points, on November 9, 2010.^[18] During a pre-release appearance promoting the book, Bush said he considered his biggest accomplishment to be keeping "the country safe amid a real danger", and his greatest failure to be his inability to secure the passage of Social Security reform.^[19] He also made news defending his administration's enhanced interrogation techniques, specifically the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, saying, "I'd do it again to save lives."^[20]

In 2012, he wrote the foreword of The 4% Solution: Unleashing the Economic Growth America Needs, an economics book published by the George W. Bush Presidential Center.^[21][22] He also presented the book at the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas.^[23] Bush did not physically appear in that year's Republican National Convention (where Mitt Romney obtained the party's nomination for president), instead appearing in a videotape, in which he –alongside his father and immediate family– explains his motives to support Romney.^[24]

Bush appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on November 19, 2013, along with his wife Laura. When asked by Leno why he does not comment publicly about the Obama administration, Bush said: "I don't think it's good for the country to have a former president criticize his successor."^[25] Despite this statement, Bush vocally disagreed with Obama's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011, calling it a "strategic blunder".^[26] In December, Bush travelled with President Obama to the memorial service of South African president and civil rights leader Nelson Mandela.^[27] There, they joined former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.^[28]

Alongside the 2014 United States–Africa Leaders Summit, Bush, Michelle Obama, the State Department, and the George W. Bush Institute hosted a daylong forum on education and health with the spouses of the African leaders attending the summit. Bush urged African leaders to avoid discriminatory laws that make the treatment of HIV/AIDS more difficult.^[29] On November 2, Bush spoke at an event to 200 business and civic leaders at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum to raise awareness for the upcoming Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C.^[30][31] On November 11, Bush published a biography of his father titled 41: A Portrait of My Father.^[32]

In an interview published by Israel Hayom magazine on June 12, 2015, Bush said that "boots on the ground" would be needed to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). He added that people had said during his presidency that he should withdraw American troops from Iraq, but he chose the opposite, sending 30,000 more troops to defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq, and that they indeed were defeated. Bush was also asked about Iran but declined to answer, stating that any answer he gives would be interpreted as undermining Obama.^[33]

During the early stages of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Bush spoke and campaigned for his brother Jeb Bush at a South Carolina rally.^{[34][unreliable source?]} However, the party's nomination eventually went to Donald Trump, whom Bush refused to endorse.^[35] Furthermore, he did not attend the party's convention.^[36][37] On the eve of Trump's nomination, it was reported that Bush had privately expressed concern about the current direction of the Republican Party, telling a group of his former aides and advisors that "I'm worried that I will be the last Republican president."^[38][39] According to a spokesperson for the Bush family, he did not vote for either Trump or Hillary Clinton in the general election, instead choosing to leave his presidential ballot blank.^[40]

After the 2016 elections, Bush, his father, and his brother Jeb called Trump on the phone to congratulate him on his victory.^[41]

On January 20, 2017, Bush and his wife attended Trump's first inauguration. Images of Bush struggling to put on a rain poncho during the ceremony became an internet meme.^[42] While leaving the event, Bush allegedly described the ceremony, and Trump's inaugural address in particular, as "some weird shit".^[43]

In February 2017, Bush released a book of his own portraits of veterans called Portraits of Courage.^[44] In August, following the white nationalist Unite the Right rally, Bush and his father released a joint statement condemning the violence and ideologies present there.^[45] Subsequently, Bush gave a speech in New York where he noted of the current political climate, "Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication." He continued, "Bigotry in any form is blasphemy against the American creed and it means the very identity of our nation depends on the passing of civic ideals to the next generation", while urging citizens to oppose threats to American democracy and be positive role models for young people.^[46] The speech was widely interpreted as a denouncement of Donald Trump and his ideologies, despite Bush not mentioning Trump by name.^{[46][47][48][49]}

On September 1, 2018, Bush and his wife attended the funeral of John McCain at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. where Bush delivered remarks at the service.^[50] On November 30, his father died at his home. Shortly before his death, Bush was able to talk with his father on the phone; his father responded with what would be his last words, "I love you too".^[51] Bush attended his father's funeral on December 5, delivering a eulogy.^[52] In May 2019 on the tenth anniversary of former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun's death, Bush visited South Korea to pay respects to Roh, delivering a short eulogy.^[53]

On June 1, 2020, Bush released a statement addressing the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent nationwide reaction and protests.^[54][55] In the statement, Bush wrote that he and former first lady Laura Bush "are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country".^[56] He also elaborated on the racial injustices perpetrated by the police, saying that "it is time for America to examine our tragic failures" and adding "Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions".^[57] On July 30, Bush and his wife, along with former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, attended and spoke at the funeral for civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.^[58]

Bush did not give any endorsements during the 2020 presidential election,^[59] but held a virtual fundraiser for U.S. senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). All four were up for reelection and were struggling in the polls.^[60] He also did not attend the 2020 Republican National Convention where President Trump was re-nominated.^[61] In April 2021, Bush told People magazine that he did not vote for either Trump or Joe Biden in the general election. Instead, he wrote in Condoleezza Rice, who served as his national security advisor from 2001 to 2005 and as his secretary of state from 2005 to 2009.^[62] When the election was called for Biden, Bush congratulated him and his running mate Kamala Harris. He also congratulated Trump and his supporters "on a hard-fought campaign". Bush's outreach to Biden was notable since Republican candidate Donald Trump had not yet conceded. Bush then issued a statement saying that while Trump was within his rights to call for recounts, he believed the election was "fundamentally fair" and that "its outcome is clear", and said he would offer Biden "my prayers for his success, and my pledge to help in any way I can", as he had for Trump and Obama.^[63][64][65]

On January 6, 2021, following the U.S. Capitol attack, Bush denounced the violence and attack alongside the three other living former presidents, Obama, Clinton, and Carter,^[66] releasing a statement saying that "this is how election results are disputed in a banana republic, not our democratic republic",^[67] and that "it is a sickening and heartbreaking sight".^[68] He also echoed president-elect Biden's message saying that what occurred at the capitol was an "insurrection".^[69]

On January 20, 2021, Bush and his wife attended Biden's inauguration.^[70] Bush opposed President Biden's withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, saying that the withdrawal made him "concerned" and that it had the potential to "create a vacuum, and into that vacuum is likely to come people who treat women as second class citizens".^[71] During an interview with Deutsche Welle on July 14, 2021, Bush reaffirmed his opposition to the troop withdrawal, calling the plan "a mistake".^[72]

On September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Bush gave a speech at the Flight 93 National Memorial, praising the heroism of the people on Flight 93 and the spirit of America. He also said that he "saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor's hand and rally to the cause of one another. That is the America I know."^[73]

Bush condemned the assassination attempt on then-former president Trump, who was the presumptive Republican nominee, on July 13, 2024, calling it "cowardly" and applauded the Secret Service's response.^[74] However, Bush did not participate in that year's Republican National Convention, which took place two days after the attempt, and where Trump was nominated for a third time.^[75] He also chose not to endorse any candidate in the presidential election.^[76] After the election was called for Trump, Bush offered his congratulations to him and his running mate JD Vance. He stated that the large turnout for the election was a "sign of the health of our republic and the strength of our democratic institutions". He also congratulated Biden and Harris on their years of public office.^[77]

On January 20, 2025, Bush and his wife attended Trump's second inauguration.^[78] On September 10, 2025, Bush released a statement condemning the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He wrote "Today, a young man was murdered in cold blood while expressing his political views. It happened on a college campus, where the open exchange of opposing ideas should be sacrosanct." He also elaborated on political violence in the United States: "Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square. Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens. May God bless Charlie Kirk and his family, and may God guide America toward civility."^[79]

After Peyton Manning tried to get Bush to appear on Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli for five years, Bush relented. On the show on November 17, 2025, Bush said that he grew up a Houston Astros and a Houston Oilers fan watching Earl Campbell and Dan Pastorini (he called Pastorini, Dante Pastorini) play for the Oilers. Bush also mentioned Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. Bush said that he and his group bought the Texas Rangers and he moved to Dallas the same year that Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys. At that time, Bush got to know Jones well and switched his allegiance to the Cowboys. Bush mentioned that his father liked the Houston Texans and the Astros, calling him a loyal Houston guy. He said George H. W. Bush was a friend of the Texans' owner. When Peyton Manning asked George W. Bush if he thought that he would have a job in public service, Bush answered no and that he would have behaved a lot better in college if he had known. "I admired my dad a lot... he never said, this is what you have to do with your life, he just said, here's this kind of way I'd like you to live, honesty and decency and compassion, but you be what you want to be... it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to be, by the way."

Bush talked about growing up in Midland, Texas. He said you either picked art or football. "I chose football." He has run marathons. Willie Mays has been a hero of his.^[80] On November 20, 2025, Bush and his wife attended the funeral of his former vice president Cheney at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where Bush spoke.^[81] Bush and his wife attended the dedication ceremony of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on June 18, 2026.^[82]