Precisely 20 years in the past this month, President George W. Bush landed in Rome to pay his respects to a deceased pope, John Paul II. He was the primary sitting president to attend a papal funeral. However he was not alone: He had requested his predecessor, Invoice Clinton, to journey alongside on Air Pressure One, together with Mr. Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush.
Collectively, the three presidents sped to St. Peter’s Basilica. Kneeling, they prayed side-by-side earlier than the pope’s physique. It was a outstanding show of American bipartisan unity, the sort of kinship amongst political rivals that feels unimaginable right this moment. And issues performed out in a different way when President Trump landed in Rome on Friday night time to attend Francis’ funeral.
He was accompanied by his spouse, Melania, and a clutch of senior aides. However his predecessor, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his spouse, Jill, flew in on their very own.
Contemplating that Mr. Trump had recently stripped Mr. Biden of his security clearances, and commonly denounces him, it’s comprehensible that they didn’t share a journey to Rome. When former President Jimmy Carter died in December, Mr. Trump mentioned he had handed away “a cheerful man” within the information that “he wasn’t the worst. President Joe Biden was.”
Mr. Biden has typically talked about his Roman Catholic upbringing. He noticed Pope Francis briefly at a summit assembly in Italy final June, weeks earlier than the disastrous debate with Mr. Trump that led to his choice to drop out of the presidential race. Mr. Biden had talked about returning to Rome to get the pope’s blessing simply earlier than leaving the White Home, however canceled the journey due to the Los Angeles wildfires in January.
Requested on Air Pressure One on the flight to Rome on Friday night whether or not he deliberate to speak with Mr. Biden on the funeral, Mr. Trump sounded stunned that his predecessor was attending. “It’s not excessive on my record,” he mentioned. “It’s actually not.”
The distinction with the 2005 papal funeral was stark. Mr. Bush was keen to make sure that Mr. Clinton was a part of the complete presidential social gathering. Not solely did the 2 males attend the funeral collectively, the previous president sat in on the extremely labeled presidential every day temporary on the flight over.
However the joined-at-the-hip act ended within the night. Mr. Bush went to sleep early, across the time Mr. Clinton was simply heading out. One night time in the course of the go to, Mr. Clinton was eating in a non-public room at a small, extremely rated Italian restaurant when he realized that most of the White Home reporters who had coated him as president had been consuming at a giant desk in the primary eating room.
Naturally, he referred to as us in to affix him for dessert and espresso, and informed tales till the early hours of the morning.
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