He Rejected The Ice Bucket Challenge, But...

The ice bucket challenge is ascending the Republican political ranks: former president George W. Bush officially accepted his nomination today, following potential 2016 presidential candidate Chris Christie’s nomination last week. After being nominated by several people — including his own daughter, Laura Bush Hager, who nominated both of her parents on the Today show — Bush decided it was finally time to step up to the challenge. Well, sort of.

Rather than submit to the actual challenge of drenching himself in ice water, Bush decided to take the (arguably more valuable) route of writing a check to ALS research. His wife, Laura, however, had other plans for him, and decided that the former president shouldn’t get to choose between getting soaked and donating. So, she took matters into her own hands and soaked him anyway.

The Ice Bucket Challenge —a campaign started to raise awareness and money for ALS research — has gone viral in the past month amongst tweens, politicians, and celebrities alike. Some celebrities that have already joined the ranks of ice bucket challenge nominees include Lady Gaga, Chris Pratt, and Ben Affleck, among others. Extending the challenge to former presidents shows how influential and widespread this viral campaign has become.

If you haven’t seen the video, here’s how it played out...

Former president George W. Bush accepts the nominations from “several Americans,” like his daughter Jenna Bush Hager, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, NFL head coach Jim Harbaugh, and professional golfer Rory McIlroy.

Bush explains that it “wouldn’t be presidential for him to be splashed with ice water” so he’s decided to write a check to the ALS foundation instead. How noble of him.

As Bush leans over to write the check on camera, his wife, Laura Bush, sneaks up behind him and dumps a bucket of ice water on his head.

Laura explains that she will be writing a check because, as predicted on the Today show by her daughter, Jenna, Laura doesn’t want to ruin her hairstyle.

Now that he’s been thoroughly (and un-presidentially, apparently) doused in icy water, President George W. Bush nominates another former president: Bill Clinton. To support this nomination, Bush reasoned that, “yesterday was Bill’s birthday and my gift to Bill is a bucket of cold water.”

If you want to watch the former president get soaked in real-time, here's the video in full:

Images: YouTube/BreadyGenius1