Donald Trump and Melania pay their respects as George HW Bush lies in state in Washington

Donald Trump pays his respects to George HW Bush as the former president lies in state
PA
Asher McShane4 December 2018

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump joined Americans to pay their respects to George H.W. Bush as he lay in state in Washington DC.

Sully, Bush's service dog, also made an appearance next to its master's casket.

People filed into the Capitol throughout the chilly, overcast day to pay respects to the 41st president, who is now celebrated by everyday citizens for his common courtesies and depth of experience.

"He was so qualified, and I think he was just a decent man," said Sharon Terry, touring Washington with friends from an Indianapolis garden club.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, third from left, leads former Operation Desert Storm commanders as they pay their last respects to former President George H.W. Bush
AP

Her friend Sue Miller said: "I actually think I underestimated him when he was in office.

"My opinion of him went up seeing how he conducted himself as a statesman afterwards."

The CIA, too, honoured Bush, the only spy chief to become president, as three agency directors past and present joined the public in the viewing.

Members of the Bush family, including Billy Bush (L), pay their respects
REUTERS

In the midst of the period of mourning, first lady Melania Trump gave Laura Bush, one of her predecessors, a tour of holiday decorations at the White House, and the Trumps planned to visit the Bush family at the Blair House presidential guesthouse.

Although President Donald Trump will attend Bush's national funeral service on Wednesday, he is not among the eulogists announced by the Bush family, a list that includes the late president's son, former President George W. Bush.

President Donald Trump, right, and first lady Melania Trump, arrive at the Blair House and are greeted by former President George W. Bush
AP

"The elegance & precision of the last two days have been remarkable!" Mr Trump tweeted of the funeral ceremonies, which opened in Texas and came to Washington on Monday.

Mr Bush is lying in state at the Capitol until the Washington National Cathedral service.

The Trumps visited Mr Bush's coffin on Monday evening.

People gather to see the coffin of George HW bush in Washington DC
Getty Images

Dignitaries came forward on Monday to honour the Texan whose service to his country extended three quarters of a century, from the Second World War through his final years as an advocate for volunteerism and relief for people displaced by natural disaster.

President from 1989 to 1993, Mr Bush died on Friday at the age of 94.

Not all the people who came for the viewing in a heavily Democratic city and suburbs were Bush supporters.

They waited in line nonetheless.

George HW Bush departure ceremony - In pictures

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"I'm just here to pay my respects," said Jane Hernandez, a retired doctor.

"I wasn't the biggest fan of his presidency, but all in all he was a good sincere guy doing a really hard job as best he could.

"And anybody who does that job deserves some respect."

Fred Curry, one of the few African-Americans in the queue, is a registered Democrat, who voted for Mr Bush in 1988, the election won by the one-term president.

"Honestly I just liked him," he said.

"He seemed like a sincere and decent man and you couldn't argue with his qualifications."

Inside the Capitol, people in wheelchairs visited the coffin alongside Sully, the two-year-old Labrador retriever assigned to Mr Bush after his wife, Barbara, died in April.

Their presence was to commemorate Mr Bush's signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1990 law that, among its many provisions, required businesses that prohibit pets to give access to service dogs.

Bob Dole, 95, an advocate of that legislation and the former Senate majority leader from Kansas, came in a wheelchair to honour his fellow Second World War veteran.

At the coffin's side, an aide helped Mr Dole into a standing position. Once steadied, Mr Dole saluted.

Mr Trump's relationship with the Bush family has been tense.

The current president has mocked the elder Mr Bush for his "thousand points of light" call to volunteerism, challenged his son's legacy as president and trounced "low-energy" Jeb Bush in the Republican presidential primaries en route to office.

The late Mr Bush called Mr Trump a "blowhard".

Although Mr Bush's funeral services are suffused with the flourishes accorded presidents, by his choice they will not include a formal funeral procession through downtown Washington.

After services in Washington, Mr Bush will be returned to Houston to lie in repose at St Martin's Episcopal Church before burial on Thursday at his family plot on the library grounds.

His final resting place will be alongside Barbara Bush, his wife of 73 years who died in April, and Robin Bush, the daughter they lost to leukaemia in 1953 aged three.

Mr Trump has ordered the federal government closed for a national day of mourning while flags on public buildings are flying at half-mast for 30 days.

Mr Bush's death also reduces membership in the ex-presidents' club to four: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Reporting by AP

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