Awkward: Bush Brother Dresses Up as a Communist on China Trip

Neil Bush, the brother of George and Jeb Bush, cracked a smile in China recently, posting a picture of himself decked out in communist paraphernalia.

“I’m thinking of joining the CCP. What do you think of my accessories?” he jokingly asked on the Chinese social site Weibo, brandishing a mug and a messenger bag with the face of Chairman Mao, and the well-known green communist officer's field cap.

Here is the picture, via Weibo:

According to the Wall Street Journal, the picture was posted on the man's verified account and generated roughly 1,600 comments in the first six hours.

The comments were a mixture of praise that Bush has finally "figured it out," so to speak, and criticism for China's Communist Party.

Here are a selection of the comments, via the Wall Street Journal:

@UncleNiujileng: Your accessories do not qualify. These days the basic Communist Party gear is: Patek Philippe watch, Hermes wallet, Armani suit…

@LinYuntao: Lead the way to the glorious liberation of the United States!

@Highland (in English): Over qualified

@YourContentHasBeenScreened: Day doesn’t understand the night’s darkness

@DuskinPragueSquare (in English): awesome.

@SongFan svan (in English): You are not prepared!

@jiayi5001: Converting to our party — you’ve finally figured it out.

@JuneLyn2012 (in English): Take the CCP to USA, leave freedom here please.

Some likened dressing up in the Communist garb to wearing a Nazi outfit because the ideology is responsible for far more deaths, but others pointed out that Chairman Mao bags are more "mainstream."

Neil Bush has a long and profitable history of working with China, and while converting to communism was clearly a joke, Bush is serious about his interest in the country.

"In the past 35 years, I have been to China 80 times and I am in awe of China’s development," he says in his personal description, according to the Daily Mail.  "I hope all Americans see China’s long journey of development in to a global force with better understanding."

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