President Barack Obama is taking heat this time around for planning to skip Nancy Reagan’s funeral to attend the popular SXSW festival in Texas. This isn’t the first time the President has skipped a major political figure’s funeral either. Hit the jump.
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Although Mr. President will be in Austin, TX for the music, tech, and film festival, first lady Michelle Obama will be in Simi Valley, California for the late former first lady’s funeral. Obama is set to make a “keynote” speech.
Some political figures aren’t too pleased with Obama’s decision, including former 2012 Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who expressed via Twitter:
“Self-centered, classless Obama misses another funeral of a high profile conservative.”
Freedom of speech at it’s finest right there.
Obama also chose not to attend the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in February, as well as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
KT McFarland, former Defense official in the Reagan administration and a Fox News national security analyst took to Twitter as well to express:
“That’s petty, petulant & lowclass.”
Other major political funeral ditchings include: the Clintons not attending Pat Nixon’s funeral in 1993, in 2007 President George W. Bush did not attend the funeral of Lady Bird Johnson (although he had no scheduled events that day), and in 2011 Obama did not attend the funeral of former first lady Betty Ford.
Also, President Carter also did not attend the funeral of Mamie Eisenhower in 1979, while President Reagan did not attend the funeral of Bess Truman in 1982.
Politics as usual I suppose.
