The nation is in mourning today after the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush on Tuesday night. Melania Trump has spoken out to honor the former First Lady and announce plans to attend her funeral on Saturday.
“Mrs. Trump intends to pay her respects to Barbara Bush and the entire family at the funeral on Saturday,” Melania’s Communications Director Stephanie Grisham told Daily Mail.
Grisham went on to explain that Melania will not be accompanied by reporters, as the First Lady wants to respect the privacy of the Bush family at this time.
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“The event will not be pooled as this is about paying tribute to Mrs. Bush,” Grisham said.
The White House has not yet revealed whether or not President Donald Trump will attend the funeral. While it is tradition for current First Ladies to attend the funerals of former presidential wives, the president himself sometimes does not go to the funerals. One example of this came when Michelle Obama attended the 2016 funeral of former First Lady Nancy Reagan without her husband, who was already scheduled to attend a Democratic fundraiser in Austin, Texas.
President Trump’s presence at Bush’s funeral could also be seen as awkward, as he has been in a longstanding feud with the former First Lady’s family since he defeated Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. In a rare interview during the election, Barbara Bush said that she did not see how “women can vote for someone” like Trump.
Thankfully, President Trump put this aside to pay tribute to Bush on Twitter hours after her passing.
.@FLOTUS Melania and I join the Nation in celebrating the life of Barbara Bush: pic.twitter.com/4OW72iddQx
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018
We’re glad to see that Melania will be making the trip to pay her respects in person to this legendary former First Lady, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the Bush family during this difficult time.
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