Donald Trump and first lady Melania joined family members at the White House Friday for a funeral service for the president’s younger brother, Robert.
Bagpipers played the hymn “Abide With Me” as Trump’s family solemnly watched Robert’s casket being transferred to a hearse and carried from White House grounds around 5:20 p.m.
Robert, 71, who served as a top executive at the Trump Organization, died on Saturday after being hospitalized last Friday in New York City.
“Robert, I Love You,” Trump tweeted Friday night. “Rest In Peace!”
Trump also mourned the passing of his “best friend” last weekend.
“This was not a great weekend. It’s very hard. You knew it was going to happen, but still, when it happens it’s a very tough thing,” the president said on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” on Monday.
“He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy. He was my friend. I guess they say best friend, and that’s true. And losing him, not easy.”
The event marked one of the rare instances during which a deceased person is brought to the White House.
The last instance was in 1963, after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, according to ABC News.
A private citizen has not been brought to the White House for a funeral since 1936, when a service was held for Louis Howe, an adviser to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“I think he’d be greatly honored,” Trump said earlier this week at the idea of a White House funeral for his brother. “He loves our country. He loved our country so much.”
