TRUMPS PAY RESPECTS TO BUSH
Late president’s casket lies in state in US Capitol
PRESIDENT Donald Trump and First Lady Melania paid their respects on Monday to late president George H.W. Bush, whose remains lies in state in the US Capitol.
The Trumps made a brief visit to the Capitol rotunda, where Bush’s flag-draped coffin was resting as part of tributes to honour the 41st US president and remember his extraordinary life.
Bush died peacefully on Friday at age 94, at his home in Houston, a passing that led Americans to reflect on his life of duty and service to country as a leader of the so-called “Greatest Generation”.
Only the second president to see his son follow him to the Oval Office, the Republican stalwart is being honoured with four days of commemorations and services in Washington and in Texas, where he will be buried tomorrow.
Trump is scheduled to attend a state funeral today at Washington National Cathedral, the first presidential funeral since Gerald Ford died in 2006.
But on Monday, after Bush relatives and dignitaries had gone, the president was driven from the White House up to Capitol Hill.
With the first lady at his side, Trump saluted, and they stood at Bush’s casket for about a minute. They exited the rotunda with little fanfare.
Bush never warmed to Trump, and he had let it be known that he did not vote for him in 2016. Trump himself has criticised the elder Bush on the campaign trail.
But on Monday, Trump wrote members of Congress to hail Bush as a man who “led a life that exemplified what is truly great about America”.
“President Bush worked selflessly throughout his long life to bring about a world of justice and lasting peace,” he wrote.
The sombre ceremony was attended by his son George W. Bush, the nation’s 43rd president, and other relatives, dignitaries and more than 100 members of the House and Senate.