Trump to meet privately with Bush family ahead of funeral
December 4, 2018 | 11:30am
President Trump acknowledged in a tweet that he will offer his condolences to the “wonderful” Bush family later Tuesday and praised the “elegance” of the ceremonies surrounding the death of President George H.W. Bush.
“Looking forward to being with the wonderful Bush family at Blair House today. The former First Lady will be coming over to the White House this morning to be given a tour of the Christmas decorations by Melania,” Trump posted on his Twitter account. “The elegance & precision of the last two days have been remarkable!”
The president was invited to attend Bush’s funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington on Wednesday, but will not speak.
The Bush family reached out to Trump over the summer to let him know that he would be welcome and to assure him that the focus of the speakers at the funeral would be on the life of Bush, who died on Friday at the age of 94, and not on criticism of the president, the Washington Post reported.
That’s in sharp contrast to the funeral of Sen. John McCain in September.
Not only did the Arizona Republican not want Trump to attend his funeral at the National Cathedral, he also asked two former political foes — former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama — to eulogize him.
Trump often mocked McCain for casting the deciding vote against repealing ObamaCare and made light of the time he spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
“He’s not a war hero,” Trump said in July 2015. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
His treatment of Bush’s son, Jeb, who was among the candidates running in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, also rankled the Bush family.
Trump dubbed him “low energy Jeb” during the campaign and often claimed President George W. Bush failed to protect America in the 9/11 attacks.
The president also ridiculed the elder Bush’s slogan “a thousand points of light.”
“What the hell is that?” Trump said at a rally in Montana in July. “Has anyone ever figured that one out? And it was put out by a Republican, wasn’t it? I know one thing, Make America Great Again we understand.”
Despite that, George H.W. Bush wanted Trump at the funeral.
Trump will sit in the front row along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.
Trump dispatched Air Force One to carry Bush’s body to Washington where it is lying in repose in the Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday’s funeral.
And he even referenced the “thousand points of light” in his statement about Bush’s death.
“President Bush inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service — to be, in his words, ‘a thousand points of light’ illuminating the greatness, hope, and opportunity of America to the world,” the statement said.
https://nypost.com/2018/12/04/trump-to-meet-privately-with-bush-family-ahead-of-funeral/