Former Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole abruptly rose from his wheelchair Tuesday; giving former President George H.W. Bush a final salute as he lay in his flag-draped coffin.
Dole, relied on an aide to help him stand on the floor of the Capitol rotunda before offering the gesture beside the casket of Bush, his onetime rival in the 1998 Republican presidential primary. Dole called Bush a “dear friend” in a statement after his death, saying the former president brought “wisdom, a keen sense of mission and diplomacy, incomparable patriotism” to the American people.
Bob Dole, at 95 years old, stands from his wheelchair to salute George H.W. Bush in the Capitol Rotunda pic.twitter.com/z6NdG7exZx
— Axios (@axios) December 4, 2018
Dole was among mourners filing into the rotunda to pay respects to Bush on day two of his lying in state, a day that also drew Colin Powell, his former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, and Sully, the yellow Labrador who worked as the former president’s service dog.
