On the fateful day of Barbara Bush’s funeral, President Trump tweeted, ”Heading to the Southern White House to watch the funeral service of Barbara Bush. First Lady Melina has arrived in Houston to pay our respects. Will be a beautiful day!”
This daring move was received with criticism though it’s not unusual for sitting presidents to skip funerals. A good example is Obama’s failure to show up at Nancy Reagan’s Funeral in 2016 and Betty Ford’s in 2011 during his term.
Where was the president?
In a brief statement, the White House told BBC that Trump would not attend the funeral to avoid potential “disruptions” due to added security – something that is not new with sitting presidents. However, the concerns here are about what the president was doing during this particular time.
According to a report, President Trump spent a significant amount of time golfing with Japan’s Prime Minister on the 21st April 2018 (Barbara’s funeral day). Of course, this raised some eyebrows, but it seems the two dignitaries were having pretty serious discussions.
Something interesting happened
Paul Morse, a professional photographer, took an unusual photo of some VIPs in what seems to be the events room. It has four former presidents – Senior and Junior Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Alongside Laura Bush, Hilary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump. Surprisingly, these people are both republicans and democrats, but they posed for this photo with big smiles on their faces.
Barbara Bush received the respect she deserved
The American people lined up on the highway to pay their last respects. They respectably behaved themselves and dressed decently. Some people came in their suits and were seen to be dressed in a solemn manner. In the end, Barbara Bush united many Americans as they gave her a decent send-off.
