The Bush family had a choice – go the John McCain route and have every speaker bash Trump in public or they could put politics aside and celebrate the life of a great man.
They chose the latter and that made all the difference in the world. They invited Trump and then refused to let anyone bash Trump, in fact, they demanded every speaker show the proper respect for the office that George H.W. Bush held so dear.
The Trump’s for their part returned the kindness many times over going above and beyond the call of duty to help the Bush family.
From The Daily Wire: Both the Trump and the Bush families have been all class in the wake of the 41st president’s passing. On top of refusing to pull a McCain by inviting President Trump to the funeral, the Bushes have only expressed kind words regarding the current president.
On Tuesday, while speaking before the WSJ CEO Council, Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, thanked both Donald and Melania Trump for their graciousness throughout this process, adding that President Trump “couldn’t have been nicer” when he called to pay his respects.
None of that means, however, that Jeb Bush and President Trump’s differences have been resolved. In the same talk, Jeb spoke about his father’s famous call for a “kinder, gentler America” and how that needs to come back.
“Politically it’s not winning,” Mr. Bush said of his father’s style. “But that’s not to say we shouldn’t restore it.”
Jeb Bush hoped that his father’s death would not be “an end of an era.” Later, he spoke of the optimism he has that such an era will return.
“A whole lot of people focused on solving problems, and they know that with civility and kindness and compassion and generosity of spirit you can do far more than pushing people down and making yourself look better,” he said. “I’m much more optimistic because I don’t come here often.”
As to why President Trump would not be giving the eulogy at his father’s funeral, the former Florida governor said that it was a matter of circumstance, being that his brother is a former president.
“What people want to talk about is, Well, why isn’t the president giving the eulogy?’ It’s because we have a unique circumstance here my brother was president,” he said. “I’m sorry. First dibs.”
Laura Bush echoed Jeb’s words earlier when she thanked Melania Trump for her kindness.
From The Hill: Former first lady Laura Bush on Tuesday afternoon thanked first lady Melania Trump for a “sweet visit” to the White House.
Melania Trump led 20 members of the Bush family on a tour through the White House on Tuesday, a White House source told CNN. She reportedly gave them holiday cookies and arranged for them to meet with residence staff members.
Laura Bush posted an Instagram photo of the family with some residence staff members Tuesday.
“A sweet visit during this somber week,” the former first lady captioned in the Instagram post.
“Thanks to Mrs. Trump for inviting our family to the White House to see the Christmas decorations and our old friends, the residence staff.”
