[ad_1]
The funeral of the 41st President of the United States, George HW Bush, began this morning (5), bringing together at the Washington National Cathedral the four former living presidents of the United States and the current president.
According to the official protocol, Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania, had to sit next to Barack Obama (2009-2017) and his wife, Michelle
The Republican praised the predecessor and former first lady, who reacted with the expression of some friends and ignored Bill (1993-2001), Hillary Clinton and Jimmy (1977-1981) and Rosalynn Carter.
Bill Clinton came to look directly at the president, but did not correspond.
The fourth former president alive is the son of the late Republican George W. Bush (2001-2009), who delivered the keynote speech at the ceremony. He attended the Cathedral with his wife Laura and brothers, including the former Florida governor, Jeb.
Hillary was Trump's opponent in the 2016 presidential election and is a constant target of his attacks (he calls her on Hillary's dishonest social networks, such as "Hillary's misleading" ).
The only former president to be out of Trump's constant target is Carter, who even went so far as to say that the Republican is treated unfairly by the press. At age 94, he is the eldest of the ex-presidents still alive.
This was the first time Trump had met with the former presidents since his inauguration two years ago.
The president was invited to the funeral of Barbara Bush, wife of George HW Bush, in April, but did not attend.
Before Bush's funeral, he was not at the burial of Republican Senator John McCain in September, but this time for lack of an invitation.
On this occasion, Obama tacitly criticized him in his speech. Trump wrote in a social network that would be "a day of celebration for a great man who has led a long and distinguished life".
In addition to the former presidents, they paid Bush's last tribute to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Vice-Presidents Dick Cheney, Joe Biden and former Secretary Al Gore. State Colin Powell, Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court, Trump's attorney and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Former President George W. Bush, Bush's eldest son and presidential biographer Jon Meacham, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and former Wyoming State Senator Alan Simpson, were responsible for praise. Trump did not address the funeral at the request of the honoree, thus breaking with a tradition.
Bush's son caused laughter and tears in the audience when paying tribute to his father, portrayed as an optimist and selfless man who sought the good of all. "He showed me what it means to be a president who sits with integrity, who drives with courage and acts with love in the hearts of the citizens of our country," he said. Evoking an expression often used by the former president, who had already been ridiculed by Trump, he stated that "it was the brightest of a thousand points of light".
Brian Mulroney referred to Trump during his speech, without naming him nominally. He recalled that the 41st President was responsible for the opening of the NAFTA negotiations and stated that the agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada had been "modernized and improved" by the following administrations.
The renegotiation of the treaty is one of the main promises of the Trump campaign. The trilateral agreement is now calling the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, but still needs to be approved by the House to come into force.
The body of the former president, who was at the Capitol since last Monday, arrived at the cathedral around 11 am (2 pm, Brasilia time). After the funeral, you will continue to Houston, Texas. A ceremony will be held at night in a church in the city.
He will be buried on Thursday (6) alongside his wife and his daughter Robin, who died at the age of 3 in 1953, at the back of the Bush Library, located in the city of College Station, 145 kilometers from Houston.
George H. W. Bush, the last US president of the generation who fought during the Second World War (1939-1945), died last Friday (30 years) at the age of 94. He suffered for many years from Parkinson's disease and had already been hospitalized because of a blood infection.
Source link
