The former commander-in-chief will rest on Wednesday at the United States Capitol, on the eve of the funeral that will take place Wednesday in Washington's National Cathedral and will bring together the most exclusive club in the world, namely former presidents . [19659002] For a few days, a confrontation between buildings on a possible partial halt of the government could be appeased and the growing threat posed by Special Adviser Robert Mueller to the presidency of Trump could fade.
Despite antipathy between the Bush family and President Donald Trump, the 41st president said he hoped the current US leader would attend the funeral, setting the institution of the presidency above personal animosities.
Trump confirmed that he would participate in the event, which follows a series of national disasters and tragedies. Moments of public mourning have led critics to blame his behavior for being inferior to that expected of a president.
To his credit, Trump canceled what was certain press conference at the G20 summit in Argentina on Saturday out of respect for Bush. He also sent one of the iconic blue and white 747 aircraft that serves as Air Force One when a president is aboard Texas to carry Bush's coffin.
It is likely that Trump will face the four men. in the National Cathedral in front of a huge television audience. The meeting will highlight how several former leaders, including Obama and Clinton, have forged close ties with their Republican predecessor, as well as their friendly relations with Bush's son, former President George W. Bush . Such links do not exist between this trio and the current president, who often criticizes his predecessors and has given no indication to take advantage of their advice and his experience in one. the most difficult and solitary jobs in world politics.
Another son of the elder Bush, the former Republican presidential candidate, Jeb Bush, during the 2016 campaign, and in July, laughed at a signature quote from the 41st president regarding "a thousand points of light", which was then used as the name of his charity.
Unavoidable Comparisons
Wednesday's national funeral will offer similarities and contrasts to John McCain's last farewell in September, to which Trump was not invited after being mocked by the senator from Arizona during the 2016 campaign for being shot and jailed in Vietnam nearly 50 years ago.
The McCain service, designed by the late Republican senator, became a comparison of heroism, the ability to reach the other side of the aisle and the ethics of service and the self-promoting behavior often presented by Trump.
Such analogies are likely to be seen again in tributes to Bush, who was almost universally regarded as a gentleman and a man. return to a more civil and magnanimous political era.
Yet with the participation of Trump, and if he renounces his emblematic incendiary policy, the divisions of the worm nation, at least for a few days.
Bush 's death is also expected to delay one of the year' s final political clashes: a muddled funding controversy in Trump 's $ 5 billion claims for his border wall.
An informed source of the interviews told CNN that lawmakers planned to pass a one-week spending bill to avoid a partial closure of the government by the deadline of Friday, the Congress being out of session at the beginning of the week preceding the Bush ceremonies.
] Trump told reporters about Air Force One on Saturday night that he would be open to such a solution.
"I would think about it and probably give it," Trump said.
Russia darkens the cloud on Trump.
Washington's mourning period comes at a difficult time in Trump's presidency, after a week in which it became clear that Mueller was getting closer to the president as his investigation grew louder.
On Thursday, Mueller unveiled a ration agreement co-op with Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen admitted to lying to Congress to conceal the fact that he was negotiating an agreement for the construction of a Trump tower in Moscow until June 2016 during the presidential campaign.
He had previously stated that discussions on the Moscow project had ended in January 2016. and said that he had lied out of a sense of obligation to Trump.
A pair of developments on Friday night seemed to bring the probe closer to the White House. CNN reported that Cohen thought Trump would offer him a pardon in exchange for his message in talks with federal prosecutors.
L Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said that Trump had never indicated such a possibility to Cohen. But the report immediately sparked speculation about communications between the two men. Any evidence that Trump offered his pardon in exchange for Cohen's testimony would constitute an abuse of power and an impenetrable offense.
Then, in a file filed later on Friday, Cohen's lawyers offered the clearest sign that he had kept Trump informed of his efforts to conclude the agreement in Moscow in 2016.
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A political break in the coming days could give Trump a brief relief from Russia's issues but could also complicate his efforts to celebrate an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to avoid escalating the trade war between the two largest economies in the world.
Trump has agreed to maintain 10% tariffs on Chinese goods valued at $ 200 billion, but will not increase them to 25% "before" in January. 1 delay.
I According to a White House statement, China will buy a "very substantial" amount of agricultural, energy and other products from the United States to help reduce the trade imbalance.
"If that happens, the biggest deals ever made," Trump said, although trade experts viewed the deal as a temporary truce act rather than a permanent peace agreement to mitigate rising tensions between the United States and China.
CNN's Clare Foran, Pamela Brown, Gloria Borger, Donna Borak, Evan Perez, Kara Scannell and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.