Trump orders flags flown at half-staff for month in memory of Bush

Former U.S. President George Bush visits a tent camp for earthquake survivors on the outskirts of Islamabad on January 17, 2006 in Pakistan. Bush, 81, came as a special envoy for the United Nations to speak with survivors of the October 8 earthquake that killed more than 75,000 people and left another 3.5 million homeless. He had been scheduled to visit the earthquake zone, but helicopter flights to the area were grounded because of bad weather. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Dec 1, 2018 / 11:55 AM EST

Updated: Dec 1, 2018 / 11:57 AM EST

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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is directing that American flags be flown at half-staff for 30 days to honor the memory of former President George H.W. Bush.

In a proclamation signed Saturday hours after Bush died, Trump is also designating Wednesday as a national day of mourning. Trump encourages Americans to gather in places of worship “to pay homage” to Bush’s memory.

He adds: “I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.”

Trump hails Bush as “one of America’s greatest points of light,” a reference to one of the former leader’s signature phrases about American civic culture.

At a campaign rally in Montana on July 5, 2018, Trump had mocked the phrase, contrasting it to his own campaign slogan, “Thousand points of light, I never quite got that one.”