Former President Bush Snr. recovering, removed from breathing tube

The 41st president of the United States George HW Bush is in stable condition and has been removed from a breathing tube, a spokesperson said that on Friday as the 92-year-old recovers from pneumonia in a Houston hospital.

“He was extubated this morning, and is breathing well on his own with minimal supplemental oxygen,’’ spokesperson Jim McGrath said in a statement.

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“President Bush is comfortable and watching inauguration coverage together with Mrs Bush, their son Neil and daughter-in-law Maria.’’

Bush’s wife, Barbara Bush, 91, was also admitted Wednesday to the same Houston Methodist Hospital due to fatigue and coughing.

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The breathing tube was inserted to treat an acute respiratory problem.

Bush was vice president from 1981-89 under president Ronald Reagan, and was elected as his successor, serving as president from 1989-93, but lost his 1992 re-election bid to Bill Clinton (1993-2001).

The Bushes are the parents of later U.S. president George W Bush (2001-09).

The elder Bush has been in declining health for several years and was hospitalised for several weeks in 2012.

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