Michelle Obama cancels book tour stops to pay respects to H.W. Bush

WASHINGTON – Former first lady Michelle Obama canceled part of her book tour so she can pay her respects to President George H.W. Bush who died Friday at the age of 94.

“It’s important for me to join the Bush family in celebrating President George H.W. Bush’s exemplary life. This will unfortunately preclude my visits to Paris and Berlin,” Obama tweeted Sunday. “I’ve been deeply touched by the enthusiasm for my memoir, and I’m working to reschedule my trip for next year.”

Obama has been on tour promoting her autobiography, “Becoming,” which became 2018’s best-selling hardcover book last week.

“I hope readers and ticket holders will understand my decision regarding my desire to attend President Bush’s funeral, and join me in paying tribute to him and his tremendous contributions to our world,” Obama added.

Both Michelle and former President Barack Obama have become close to the Bush family, with Obama visiting Bush 41 in Houston three days before he died.

The Obamas also attended the April funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush.

All the members of the ex-presidents club, except for 94-year-old Jimmy Carter, came to Houston to pay their respects.

First lady Melania Trump represented the Trump administration.

Michelle Obama has become especially friendly with President George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush’s son, calling him her “partner in crime” and a “wonderful man.”

“I love him to death,” she said of Bush 43, according to USA Today.

At Sen. John McCain’s funeral on Sept. 1, the younger Bush handed Obama a cough drop during the ceremony — a gesture that went viral on social media.

“And I will say they were old cough drops,” she said, explaining that they were in a White House box “And I was like, ‘How long have you had these?’ They said, ‘A long time. We got a lot of these.’”

She said their friendship defies the current hyper-partisan and divisive political era.

“Party doesn’t separate us,” Obama said. “Color, gender, those sort of things don’t separate us.”

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