George W. Bush’s fondness forMichelle Obamawas evident on Wednesday, as the grieving son snuck her what appeared to be a piece of candy at the state funeral for his father, former presidentGeorge H.W. Bush.
The former president was greeting his predecessors and successors in the first row at the National Cathedral, when he removed what looked like candy from his pocket and handed it to Mrs. Obama. She smiled at the gesture.
Mrs. Obama, 54, was attending with her husband, former PresidentBarack Obama. Obama and George W. Bush were two of the five living presidents in attendance for the funeral in Washington, D.C.
Earlier this year, Bush was seen on cameraoffering Mrs. Obama a piece of candyat John McCain’s funeral.
“[President Bush] is my partner in crime at every major thing where all the formers gather. So we’re together all the time, and I love him to death. He’s a wonderful man. He’s a funny man,” Mrs. Obama said during a visit on theTodayshow in October.
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She went on to explain why she believed the bipartisan moment quickly went viral. “That’s what people are hungry for. … Party doesn’t separate us; color, gender, those kinds of things don’t separate us. It’s the message that we send,” she said.
In order to attend the funeral, Mrs. Obama cancelled her planned book tour appearances for her memoir,Becoming, in Paris and Berlin.
“I hope readers and ticket holders will understand my decision regarding my desire to attend President Bush’s funeral, and join me in paying tribute to him and his tremendous contributions to our world,” she added.
The world first witnessed the unlikely friendship between Mrs. Obama and Bush, 72, when they shared a hug at the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016.
She noted in aninterview with Bush’s daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, onToday, though that she and the former president — a Republican, and Mrs. Obama a Democrat — don’t agree on everything.
“We’re all Americans. We all care about our family our kids, and we’re trying to get ahead,” she told Bush Hager, adding, “We have different ideas about what’s the best way to get there.”
He will then be laid to rest at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University. His late wife Barbara as well as their daughter Robin, whodied at the age of three from leukemia, are also buried there.
source: people.com
