His Finest tribute
AS FUNERAL IS PLANNED, SLAIN COP’S BRO TELLS NEWS: BUSH NEVER FORGOT
President George H.W. Bush, after a state funeral in the nation's capital, will be buried in Texas alongside his beloved wife of 73 years.
Bush is to be interred Thursday on the grounds of his presidential library at Texas A&M University in the family plot alongside spouse Barbara and their 3-year-old daughter Robin, who died in 1953, the university announced Saturday.
President Trump, despite his contentious history with the late President and his family, announced that he intends to attend the 41st President's funeral.
Trump declared Dec. 5 a national day of mourning in honor of his fellow Republican as the Bush family worked Saturday on finalizing funeral arrangements for their patriarch, who passed away Friday at the age of 94.
“President George H.W. Bush led a long, successful and beautiful life,” Trump tweeted Saturday from the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires. “Whenever I was with him I saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. His accomplishments were great from beginning to end. He was a truly wonderful man and will be missed by all."
The President's body will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda for three days beginning Monday, giving the nation its chance to bid farewell to the man who devoted most of his life to the county that he so loved. Bush will be flown from Texas to Washington via Air Force One, and then return to the Lone Star State for burial, officials announced.
The President's final conversation before his death came with his son and fellow commander-in-chief, George W. Bush, The New York Times reported Saturday.
The younger Bush, via speakerphone, thanked his father for being a “wonderful dad” and sent along his love.
“I love you too, son,” the father responded — the last words he would speak.
Trump — who also ordered U.S. flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days — will attend the funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington with First Lady Melania Trump. He was also working to help arrange a state funeral for the ex-President, according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The last President to lie in state was Gerald Ford after his 2006 death.
As seems usual when it comes to political funerals in the Trump era, the President has had a contentious relationship with the Bush family.
In an August 2015 tweet meant as a shot at George H.W. Bush and his sons, Trump wrote: “The last thing we need is another Bush in the White House. Would be the same old thing (remember “read my lips, no more taxes”). GREATNESS!”
During the 2016 GOP presidential campaign, Trump famously derided Jeb Bush as “low energy.” He also called George W. Bush's decision to launch the Iraq War “the worst single mistake ever made in the history of our country.”
The Bushes fired back. George W. Bush told an interviewer in 2016: "This guy doesn't know what it means to be President,” and Bush Sr. described Trump as a “blowhard” and said he voted for Hillary Clinton.
The family of Sen. John McCain made it clear the President was unwelcome at his fu-
neral over Trump’s snide remarks about the Vietnam War hero and prisoner of war. Also, earlier this year Trump declined to attend the funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush, sparking speculation that his strained relationship with the Bush family was at the root of his absence.
Asked Saturday by reporters whether he regrets his past attacks on the Bush family, Trump declined to answer — though he did say that Bush’s death “really put a damper” on his participation in the G-20 summit.
“I was very much looking forward to having a press conference just prior to leaving Argentina,” he tweeted.
A public arrival ceremony was planned for Monday when Bush’s body reaches the Capitol. The public visitation is to begin that evening and run through Wednesday.
“The Bush family is partnering with the Department of Defense’s Joint Task Force-National Capital Region to carry out President Bush’s wishes as it relates to his state funeral plan,” according to a statement on his website.
“Details will be announced and posted both to this page and the website” of the task force.
Bush served the nation in a variety of jobs, starting as a World War II Navy fighter pilot and finishing as the nation’s chief executive. Bush served as envoy to China, United Nations ambassador, director of the CIA, head of the Republican National Committee and Vice President for two terms under Ronald Reagan.
The Berlin Wall came down under his watch, and he unleashed Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
After leaving office in January 1993, Bush opted to steer clear of the public eye. Even his advice to George W. after the son’s election in 2000 was generally low-key and provided behind the scenes.
But he wasn’t low-key in his private life — he jumped from planes in a nod to his World War II parachute jumps to mark his 72nd, 80th, 85th and 90th birthdays.