Quick Take
President Donald Trump, like others at former President George H.W. Bush’s funeral, put his hand over his heart as the casket passed.
Full Story
As former President George H.W. Bush’s casket passed the first pew in the Washington National Cathedral during his funeral on Dec. 5, President Donald Trump put his hand over his heart.
A moment later, Trump dropped his hand to his side while many of those near him — including Melania Trump, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton — kept their hands over their hearts. It’s that moment that has been widely shared online in memes expressing outrage that Trump didn’t have his hand over his heart.
Some of those pictures have a big red circle around Trump and some have an arrow pointing at him. Other pictures have circles around each person’s hand to emphasize that Trump’s hand is at his side.
But no matter how they’re presented, they’re misleading. Trump did, indeed, have his hand over his heart when the casket passed by him as it was entering the cathedral, and when it was leaving, as can be seen in official White House photos. Getty Images captured a nearly identical photo of Trump properly paying his respects at that point in the funeral.
While it isn’t a requirement, placing the hand over the heart is a sign of respect that is recommended as part of military funeral etiquette for civilians.
This isn’t the first time that the decorum of a public figure has been misrepresented through deceptive photo or video editing.
Last year, conservative websites falsely accused Democratic leaders of remaining seated during a standing ovation for a Navy SEAL widow at Trump’s joint address to Congress. There were two ovations and a video of the event shows Democratic leaders stood for both. However, they did not remain standing as long as Republicans — just as Trump did not keep his hand over his heart as long as others at Bush’s funeral.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on the social media network.
Sources
Harrer, Andrew. Photo of former President George H.W. Bush’s casket entering the National Cathedral. Bloomberg via Getty Images. 5 Dec 2018.
Harrer, Andrew. Photo of former President George H.W. Bush’s casket entering the National Cathedral. Bloomberg via Getty Images. 5 Dec 2018.
Hanks, Andrea. Photo of former President George H.W. Bush’s casket entering the National Cathedral. Official White House photo. Flickr. 5 Dec 2018.
Hanks, Andrea. Photo of former President George H.W. Bush’s casket leaving the National Cathedral. Official White House photo. Flickr. 5 Dec 2018.
Clip of President George H.W. Bush State Funeral Service. C-SPAN. 5 Dec 2018.
Clip of President George H.W. Bush State Funeral Service. C-SPAN. 5 Dec 2018.
Spring, James, Sr. Master Sgt. “Do you know proper military funeral etiquette?” 93sow.ang.af.mil. 21 Apr 2013.
Gore, D’Angelo. “Dems Stood for Widow’s Ovation.” FactCheck.org. 2 Mar 2017.
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