Next time keep it in Queens
I think Trump’s throwing a funeral for his brother at the White House is tacky, at best. It’s not normal; it’s not what presidents do. It’s gross. It’s exhibitionist. It’s narcissistic. It’s ick.
Trump on Monday said he wanted to hold a service for his younger brother, who died Saturday, at the White House, telling reporters, “I think he’d be greatly honored. He loves our country. He loved our country so much. He was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country.”
That doesn’t mean you’re supposed to do his funeral in the building.
It is a rare event for the East Room to be used for funeral events, outside of a ceremony for a deceased president. There is precedent, however. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison utilized the East Room for funeral services for the wife and daughter of his Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Tracy. The two women were killed in a fire.
Different. Someone else’s family, not his.
And in 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt hosted a state funeral in the East Room for his longtime political adviser and close friend Louis Howe.
A little closer, and somewhat gross.
Just don’t.