Decency Triumphs: Trump Not Invited to Queen's Funeral

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

When Nelson Mandela passed away in December of 2013, President Barack Obama invited former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush to join him as part of the official US delegation to the funeral.  Last week there was a panel discussion on CNN in which the same notion was broached with regard to the US delegation to Queen Elizabeth's funeral which will be held next Monday at Westminster Abbey in London.  The CNN panelists pondered whether President Biden should invite former US Presidents to fly to London with him and Jill for the funeral, and if he did that should the invitees include Trump?

CNN News anchor Jake Tapper created a firestorm on social media when he said that inviting Trump would be "clever" and seemed to be promoting the idea.   Tapper's logic was that Trump would decline because he would not want to be in a subservient position to Biden while aboard Air Force One.  The ensuing "discussion" on social media evoked memories of Trump's oafish behavior during his only official visit with the Queen and the fact that he did not seem to know how to comport himself in a ceremony involving royals - or even just well-mannered individuals.

But there was also a subset of people in the United States who felt that it would be entirely appropriate for the President of the United States to invite the man who was still claiming to have defeated him in the last election, tried his best to foment an insurrection and hold onto control of the government by force, and who stole highly classified documents from the White House - to be a part of the official delegation to Queen Elizabeth's funeral.

The British government took the lead in determining who would be welcome at the royal funeral with an announcement that due to space limitations only current world leaders would be invited.  Then Joe Biden reemphasized the point by saying that he and Jill would be the entire US delegation to the funeral.  

Trump can go pound sand at one of his golf "resorts" next Monday because he will not be at Westminster Abbey with the official mourners.   Score one for decency!