# Was Trump at Bob Dole's funeral? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 11, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897 "2021-12-11T19:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/1 "2021-12-11T19:03:49Z")
Was he invited? I don’t suppose there was any love lost betwixt them and Trump would hate sharing the limelight, especially with a so-called hero who got wounded. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/2 "2021-12-11T19:16:09Z")
He’ll show up in two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/3 "2021-12-11T19:17:52Z")
Oh, he would have made his presence known if he was, so in short, no. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/4 "2021-12-11T20:33:07Z")
He was not; that would have been presidential and mature, so he was unable. As usual Trump could not. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/5 "2021-12-11T20:38:52Z")
Maybe he was afraid of being hit with a subpoena if his whereabouts was known. Has he been seen off the grounds of the Florida White House lately? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/6 "2021-12-12T03:27:08Z")
Mike Pence was there. Trump was not. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/7 "2021-12-12T03:48:20Z")
“What’s some dead guy gonna do for me?” Trump is entirely transactional, unless someone with actual power over him forces him not to be. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/8 "2021-12-12T06:22:25Z")
Dole spent WWII shooting at the Nazis, which I’m sure disqualifies Loser Donald from being a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/9 "2021-12-12T14:30:53Z")
Trump prefers men who didn’t get all shot up. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/10 "2021-12-12T21:42:25Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I don’t suppose there was any love lost betwixt them Dole supported Trump. People who were Republicans before 2016 didn’t just become good in 2016 because a new kind of asshole showed up. Weird to me that Democrats can’t see the way they’re backdooring themselves into just being Republicans as a way of hypothetically owning Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/11 "2021-12-12T21:54:46Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > nd Trump would hate sharing the limelight, especially with a so-called hero who got wounded Like [Teddy Roosevelt](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7563985-my-father-theodore-roosevelt-always-wanted-to-be-the-corpse), Trump wants to be the corpse at every funeral, and frankly that is the one position on which our desires intersect. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/12 "2021-12-13T01:57:21Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Dole supported Trump. And even in 2020! He really went down in my estimation with that. All the years of bipartisanship - poof. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/13 "2021-12-13T14:47:10Z")
I’ll cut Dole a bit of slack for supporting DJT in 2020. After all, the dude was 97 years old. I don’t hold people of that age responsible for not thinking clearly. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/14 "2021-12-17T20:26:54Z")
Gingrich, an ally who called Dole the “tax collector for the welfare state” before most people were born wasn’t in attendance either. Politicians’ & partisans’ egos are always fascinating to observe. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/15 "2021-12-27T19:25:28Z")
Is Trump supposed to go to the funerals for every GOP officeholder? He and Dole were never in government at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/16 "2021-12-27T19:38:11Z")
I think as the most recent former GOP president, he’s a party leader, if not _the_ party leader. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/17 "2021-12-27T21:03:39Z")
The bigger question here is, will Bob Dole attend Trump’s funeral? If not (or even if so), who else will? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/18 "2021-12-27T21:05:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Is Trump supposed to go to the funerals for every GOP officeholder? He and Dole were never in government at the same time. No, he’s not “supposed to.” No one wanted him there. That’s what makes it interesting. The most recent Republican president is not welcome at funeral for former party leader. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/19 "2021-12-27T21:35:19Z")
Recall the 2018 funeral of Barbara Bush, where Bush Sr, Bush Jr, Clinton, Obama, and their wives and also Melania were present. Who was missing? Recall the subsequent 2018 funeral of Bush Sr, where Trump was present. It was much discussed in the media (well, at least in the Fake News Liberal Lamestream Media) how isolated he seemed. > **[Picturing Trump's absence](https://thetandd.com/opinion/columnist/picturing-trumps-absence/article_c295277a-99e9-5b91-a8d1-bf1fe06fd9cd.html)** > > WASHINGTON -- Sometime a picture is worth a zillion words. The viral group photograph from former first lady Barbara Bush's funeral speaks volumes about the state of our democracy, poignantly > **[Bush funeral: Trump sits with fellow presidents but still stands alone](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bush-funeral-trump-sits-with-fellow-presidents-but-still-stands-alone/2018/12/05/fdc6663a-f8a3-11e8-8d64-4e79db33382f_story.html)** > > The emotional tribute to the 41st president’s character and compassion draws implicit contrasts with the 45th. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-trump-at-bob-doles-funeral/955897/20 "2021-12-28T23:31:54Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The bigger question here is, will Bob Dole attend Trump’s funeral? > > If not (or even if so), who else will? I’m picturing something like Scrooge’s funeral. > The Spirit stopped beside one little knot of business men. Observing that the hand was pointed to them, Scrooge advanced to listen to their talk. > “No,” said a great fat man with a monstrous chin, “I don’t know much about it either way. I only know he’s dead.” > “When did he die?” inquired another. > “Last night, I believe.” > “Why, what was the matter with him? I thought he’d never die.” > “God knows,” said the first, with a yawn. > “What has he done with his money?” asked a red-faced gentleman. > “I haven’t heard,” said the man with the large chin. “Company, perhaps. He hasn’t left it to me. That’s all I know. Bye, bye!” > … > Scrooge and the Phantom came into the presence of this man, just as a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into the shop. But she had scarcely entered, when another woman, similarly laden, came in too; and she was closely followed by a man in faded black. After a short period of blank astonishment, in which the old man with the pipe had joined them, they all three burst into a laugh. > “Let the charwoman alone to be the first!” cried she who had entered first. “Let the laundress alone to be the second; and let the undertaker’s man alone to be the third. Look here, old Joe, here’s a chance! If we haven’t all three met here without meaning it!” > “You couldn’t have met in a better place. You were made free of it long ago, you know; and the other two ain’t strangers. What have you got to sell? What have you got to sell?” > “Half a minute’s patience, Joe, and you shall see.” > “What odds then! What odds, Mrs Dilber?” said the woman. “Every person has a right to take care of themselves. He always did! Who’s the worse for the loss of a few things like these? Not a dead man, I suppose.” > Mrs Dilber, whose manner was remarkable for general propitiation, said, “No, indeed, ma’am.” > “If he wanted to keep 'em after he was dead, a wicked old screw, why wasn’t he natural in his lifetime? If he had been, he’d have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself.” > “It’s the truest word that ever was spoke, it’s a judgment on him.” > “I wish it was a little heavier judgment, and it should have been, you may depend upon it, if I could have laid my hands on anything else. Open that bundle, old Joe, and let me know the value of it. Speak out plain. I’m not afraid to be the first, nor afraid for them to see it.” > Joe went down on his knees for the greater convenience of opening the bundle, and dragged out a large and heavy roll of some dark stuff. > “What do you call this? Bed-curtains!” > “Ah! Bed-curtains! Don’t drop that oil upon the blankets, now.” > “His blankets?” > “Whose else’s do you think? He isn’t likely to take cold without 'em. I dare say. Ah! You may look through that shirt till your eyes ache; but you won’t find a hole in it, nor a threadbare place. It’s the best he had, and a fine one too. They’d have wasted it by dressing him up in it, if it hadn’t been for me.”