George W Bush weeps for his father, George H.W. Bush, amid grandeur of former US president’s state funeral
- George W. Bush eulogised George H.W. Bush as ‘the best father a son or daughter could have’
- The state funeral was attended by three other former presidents and current US President Donald Trump, who was not invited to speak
Former US president George W. Bush choked back tears eulogising “the best father a son or daughter could have” as official Washington turned out Wednesday to honour the late president George H.W. Bush with the full pageantry of a state funeral.
Bush paused and tapped his father’s flag-draped casket twice as he walked up to the altar at Washington National Cathedral to offer a personal remembrance of the 41st president. He called his father a political leader of unrelenting optimism and steadfast personal character.
“He showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage, and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country,” Bush said.
US President Donald Trump listened from the front pew with his arms crossed, seated beside his three Democratic predecessors and their wives. He wasn’t invited to speak.
Presidential historian and Bush biographer Jon Meacham, another eulogist at the service, called George H.W. Bush “America’s last great soldier-statesman”, a second world war hero who, after being shot down over the Pacific at the age of 20 and rescued from the sea, spent the rest of his life proving himself worthy of salvation.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who also spoke, said that when Bush was in the White House “every single head of government in the world knew that they were dealing with a gentleman, a genuine leader, one who was distinguished, resolute and brave.”