Donald Trump Reportedly ‘Miffed’ That Events Honoring George HW Bush Were Not About Him, ‘NYT’ Reports

President Donald Trump was widely criticized for a series of socially awkward gaffes during the memorial services and state funeral for President George H.W. Bush this week, as Inquisitr reported. But behind the scenes, according to reports, Trump was “impatient” for the multi-day series of events honoring Bush to wrap up, and was annoyed that the events memorializing Bush’s life and career in public service did not make Trump himself the center of attention.

That description of Trump’s behind-the-scenes demeanor comes from sources inside Trump’s administration, who spoke to New York Times reporter Peter Baker this week. According to Baker’s report, the administration officials described Trump as “miffed” by “so many ceremonial events not related to him.” In addition, Trump was “impatient for the memorials to end,” Baker wrote in his report.

But, according to the report, Trump told the officials that he was proud of himself for remaining “civil” during the week of memorial events honoring Bush, who died last Friday at the age of 94. Trump, they said, was determined to avoid the criticism he received for what Baker called his “peevish” behavior following the death of Republican Senator John McCain in August, when, as the New York Times reported, Trump refused even to lower the White House flag to honor McCain.

Trump famously mocked McCain during his life, ridiculing the former Vietnam prisoner of war’s status as a hero.

“He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured,” Trump said, as Politico reported. But he also once mocked Bush for his most acclaimed rhetorical moment, Bush’s “thousand points of light” address.

In his 1988 acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination, Bush used the phrase, “a thousand points of light” to describe the diversity of America, as History documents, and Bush went on to use the phrase frequently throughout his campaign and presidency. But Trump was not impressed.

“Thousand points of light, I never quite got that one. What the hell is that?” Trump said at a 2015 campaign rally, according to NBC News. “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. Putting America first we understand.”

Trump also appeared outwardly uncomfortable at Wednesday’s state funeral for Bush, according to the New York Times report.

“It was a chilly encounter with his fellow presidents, the first since his inauguration,” Baker wrote in the report. “As he shook hands with the Obamas, they forced polite but palpably strained smiles. Mr. Trump did not reach past them to shake hands with Bill Clinton, who appeared open to it, much less with Hillary Clinton, who avoided looking at him.”