US presidents gather for Bush farewell
WITH their hands on their hearts and faces sombre, US presidents past and present united yesterday to mourn George HW Bush.
Current president Donald Trump joined all four surviving ex-presidents for Mr Bush’s state funeral in Washington yesterday, in an uneasy truce between the warring politicians.
Even more awkwardly for Mr Trump, who has feuded bitterly with the Bush family in recent years, he had to share a pew with his other political foes – the Obamas and the Clintons.
The president sat impassively through a service in which, even though he was never mentioned by name, speaker after speaker rammed home the contrast between him and Mr Bush’s virtues of dignity, humility and integrity.
The ‘Presidents Club’, as surviving presidents are informally known, was joined by world leaders and dignitaries including Prince Charles, John Major and Angela Merkel to honour Mr Bush, who died aged 94 last Friday.
Mr Bush’s wife Barbara had previously made clear that Mr Trump would not be welcome at her funeral in April, but her husband had wanted his funeral to be different. However, Bush family sources said the offer had been largely due to his respect for protocol rather than any burning desire to offer Mr Trump an olive branch.
Irish tenor Ronan Tynan performed at yesterday’s ceremony, after singing to the former US president on his deathbed. The 58-year-old Kilkenny native performed a rendition of Last Full Measures Of Devotion and the Lord’s Prayer, accompanied by the Armed Forces Chorus and the Unites Orchestra.
According to the New York Times, Mr Tynan, who has a close relationship with the Bush family, called early on the day of Mr Bush’s death asking if he could see him. When he arrived, he was asked to sing to the former president.
Mr Tynan sang two songs to him – Silent Night and an Irish song.
Mr Bush’s long-time friend and former US secretary of state, James A. Baker III was there during Mr Tynan’s visit, and has since said: ‘Believe it or not, the president was mouthing the words.’
Mr Tynan also sang at the second inauguration of George W Bush, who broke down briefly as he presented the eulogy. He said the last words his father ‘would ever say on earth were, “I love you, too”.
‘To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light,’ he said.