Respect
Funniest headline ever:
Trump won’t attend Barbara Bush funeral ‘out of respect’ for family, White House says
Aka he wasn’t invited and they had to explain it somehow, so they chose an absurd non sequitur. The usual form of “respect” in this sitch is to go to the funeral. The White House is saying that Trump’s presence at the funeral would be a token of disrespect. Why? Well because Trump is so disreputable.
But also of course there’s just the hilarious transparency of it – “They don’t want me there and it’s because I’m SO AWESOME I might spoil it for everyone else.”
President Donald Trump will not join first lady Melania Trump in attending the funeral services for Barbara Bush, the White House said in a statement, citing a desire to “avoid disruptions” stemming from the increased security presence and “out of respect for the Bush Family and friends.”
Sure, because the Bushes are totally unused to all the fuss and muss that follows a president, so they’d be freaked out by it. Excellent choice of explanation for embarrassing absence.
A spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed they will attend the funeral, as will former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, according to Bush family representative.
But the current president has to stay home to tidy his sock drawer.
So the Bushes invited the former Democratic presidents, but not the current one from their own party. Hilarious.
I know I skip events to which I am uninvited all the time, and I know I do it out of respect – a really, truly minimal variety of it. I think this is in fact common practice. I’m not confident that Donald Trump skips events to which he is not invited out of respect. It boggles the mind that he’d be capable of it, even though 95+% of humanity is as a matter of course. And when he goes and says he’s doing something – anything – out of respect (or any other motive associated with human decency), my likelihood estimate drops further.
Not only sorting socks, he has hair to hone. Takes all morning most days, but that may not do it quite right.
Of all the excuses they could come up with, they picked ‘disruption from security’? With at least four ex-presidents and the current First(-ish; Ivanka may dispute that) Lady in attendance, each with their own Secret Service detail, security will already rival the mourners in number.
I’m sure he would have been invited, but the grown-ups remaining in the White House managed to convince him that he wouldn’t be the centre of attention at the funeral of such a highly regarded member of the Republican establishment. What they wouldn’t dare tell him is that being at such an event, the direct comparison with his four predecessors would starkly demonstrate his lack of anything approaching class and dignity.
Any bets on him tweeting later that he had a bigger crowd at his inauguration than Mama Bush attracted for her funeral?
Don’t know that I buy he wasn’t invited, since it seems strange they would invite the First Lady but not the President.
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1891146644237121/?type=3&theater
Well it is strange, yes, but then everything about this guy and this presidency is strange. The ongoing strange begets new strange.
Yesterday I read a blog post – forget which one – which pointed out that for whatever reason, the current president generally doesn’t attend the funeral of a former First Lady. The last was JFK attending Eleanor Roosevelt’s funeral in 1962. (A good person to make an exception for.)
So it’s not so much weird that Donald didn’t go, just the usual Trump administration hamfisted approach to announcements.
JDM – Obama didn’t attend Nancy Reagan’s funeral. I suppose if you’re not going to make an exception for Nancy Reagan, then making an exception for Barbara Bush would seem – exceptional.