Donald Trump Tweets He’s ‘Looking Forward’ To Funeral For President George HW Bush
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, will attend the funeral of former President George H.W. Bush later this week. Ahead of his attendance, Trump took to Twitter to express that he is looking forward to the funeral — and in paying his respects to the family.
He tweeted, “Looking forward to being with the Bush Family to pay my respects to President George H.W. Bush.”
While it may seem strange to admit to “looking forward” to something like a funeral, the tweet is relatively tame by most standards. CNN reported that Trump will meet privately with the Bush family ahead of the funeral, on Tuesday, at Blair House. The funeral will occur on Wednesday at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump is expected to attend, along with all living past presidents.
When news of the passing of the elder Bush hit last Friday, somebody also posted a statement from Trump and his wife on Twitter. The Inquisitr reported that many users of the popular social media network did not believe that the president himself had penned those words. Critics instantly read the eloquent statement and believed that it did not sound like Trump, who was at the G20 summit at the time.
The tweets Trump has made regarding the late president since the original official statement have been more casual.
One Twitter user had some advice for Trump as he visits the mourning family and attends the state funeral, writing, “Behave yourself. This is not about you but the loss of a true President.”
Another Twitter user pointed out that Trump’s words seemed odd at such a sad time, quipping, “How can you be ‘looking forward’ to a funeral!??? #FootinMouth.”
George H.W. Bush's service dog Sully is among those mourning the former president. https://t.co/do1OFGYwXt
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 3, 2018
While there was some speculation that President Trump might not be invited to the funeral — due to a somewhat acrimonious relationship with the Bush family in general, per Politico — the Inquisitr reported that the elder Bush invited Trump to his funeral because he did not want to “stiff” a sitting president. It is worth noting that Trump did not attend Barbara Bush’s funeral earlier this year, with first lady Melania Trump attending in his stead.
Although the McCain family specifically did not invite the president to Senator John McCain’s funeral earlier this year, Bush felt the office of the president should be revered.
Douglas Brinkley, a Rice University history professor and author, explained, “For Bush 41, Trump is the president, and he does not want to stiff a sitting president, so in his own way, it is magnanimous that he is having Melania and Donald Trump come.”
