Melania Trump hosts White House event to unveil Barbara Bush postage stamp

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the White House’s East Room on a rainy Thursday, first lady Melania Trump and members of the Bush family gathered to unveil a U.S postage stamp bearing the portrait of former first lady Barbara Bush.

Amid the anticipation of the unveiling, Trump, Bush’s daughter Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch and Judy de Torok, a vice president at U.S. Postal Service, took turns sharing stories chronicling the former first lady’s life and achievements.

Bush Koch held back tears recalling moments from her mother’s early life. “Mom was never one to shy away from speaking the truth or taking a stand,” she said. “With her signature white hair and pearls, she became an icon in her own right, and yet, even as a former first lady, she remained humble and humorous.”

The image on the stamp is Barbara Bush’s official White House portrait, which currently hangs in the entrance to the East Wing. She is depicted in a black suit and purple blouse, wearing her hallmark triple strand of pearls.

After a commemoration ceremony in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the Bush family compound is located, the stamp will go on sale June 10th.

Bush notably championed literacy programs and helped destigmatized people with AIDS and HIV when she cradled an infant during a 1989 visit to a hospice for children with the disease. Trump said Bush “changed the national conversation on AIDS and took a stand supporting gay rights.”

Trump also said she appreciated how Bush inspired people to pursue their personal dreams and was ahead of her time when she made the call for a female American president.

“Who knows?” Trump said. “Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House, and I wish him well,” she said to laughs.

Barbara Bush died in 2018 at 92 years-old. She was married to President George H. W. Bush. She is the mother of former President George W. Bush.

She was one of only two first ladies who had a child who was elected president. The other was Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams and mother of President John Quincy Adams.

And in 2016 — at 90 years-old — Barbara Bush campaigned for her son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush when he vied for the Republican presidential nomination, according to the George H. W. Bush library.

She had strong words for Donald Trump — back in 2016 she said in a joint CNN interview with Jeb Bush that she was “sick” of the current president. “He’s said terrible things about women, terrible things about the military. I don’t understand why people are for him, for that reason,” she said at the time.

Melania Trump attended Bush’s funeral in 2018 while Donald Trump did not attend. The White House said he stayed away to avoid security disruptions.

Bush is the eighth first lady to be honored with a U.S. postage stamp.

Bush Koch said “it’s unlikely that mom ever pictured herself on the postage stamp, and it’s very likely that she would be wondering what all this fuss is about.”