Trump delivers remarks at Billy Graham memorial
President Trump delivered remarks at the memorial service on Capitol Hill for the Reverend Billy Graham, who died at his home in Montreat, North Carolina last week. He was 99.
Mr. Trump has said Graham was a "very special man" and will be missed by Christians and people of all religions. The first lady, vice president and numerous other members of the political world offered similar messages of condolences, taking note of his decades of service, which earned him the nickname of "America's pastor."
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump remembered Graham as a man who touched the lives of American presidents and ordinary people alike.
"The testimony is endless," Mr. Trump said. "Today we give thanks for this extraordinary life. And it's very fitting that we do so right here in the rotunda of the United Staes Capitol, where the memory of the American people is enshrined. Here in this room we remember America is a nation sustained by prayer."
Graham was a counselor and confidante to nearly every American president since Harry Truman, but Graham himself denied he had a role in making policy. He said, "I don't advise them, I pray with them."
Graham will lay in honor at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday, the first time a private citizen has been accorded such recognition since civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.
Trump departs the rotunda, followed by congressional leaders
The president departed the rotunda at 11:38 a.m., followed by the first lady. Congressional leaders and Cabinet members slowly filed out, too.
As they left, administration officials including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and others paid their respects. Energy Secretary Rick Perry saluted Graham's casket.
Spotted in the crowd was Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom Mr. Trump had bashed on Twitter shortly before the service.
Trump and the first lady pay their respects
The president and First Lady Melania Trump approached the casket to pay their respects to the late evangelist, before the benediction. Both were adorned in black.
Graham ceremony brings rare moment of reverence from both parties
As the president and others honored Graham's life, there was a rare moment of reverence from both parties.
Leaders in both parties, along with Cabinet members all looked on silently as the ceremony progressed. Graham served both Democratic and Republican presidents, and arguably, was respected by people in both parties as much as anyone else in the past century.
Trump: Everywhere he went, Graham taught the same message — "God loves you"
The president said that everywhere he went, Graham taught the same "beautiful" message -- "God loves you."
Mr. Trump, calling Graham's testimony through his life "endless," said it was "fitting" to remember him in the Capitol's rotunda, surrounding by paintings of men of faith.
"The testimony is endless," Mr. Trump said. "Today we give thanks for this extraordinary life. And it's very fitting that we do so right here in the rotunda of the United Staes Capitol, where the memory of the American people is enshrined. Here in this room we remember America is a nation sustained by prayer."
The president called Graham an "ambassador for Christ." Only a few private citizens have been honored like Graham in the rotunda, Mr. Trump said.
"Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America."
Trump commemorates Graham
President Trump, taking the microphone, described how Billy Graham's decision to turn his life over to the Lord changed the world.
Mr. Trump described the path of Graham's ministry, from a small crowd to a crowd in Yankee Stadium, where Trump himself heard the evangelist preach. The president described how much is father admired the man known as America's pastor.
"Fred Trump was a big fan. Fred Trump was my father," Mr. Trump said.
Paul Ryan says Graham's message "never diminished"
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said Graham's message, taught to past presidents and great leaders to ordinary people alike, "never diminished."
Ryan said Graham had an "infectious" love for people, calling them to reflect and repent.
"When our country was on its knees he reminded us, he convinced us, that is exactly when we find our grace and our strength."
"Few loved others as Billy Graham did, and few were as beloved as he was," Ryan said. "Here lies America's pastor, a man made great not by who he was, but by who he served, with all of his heart and all of his soul, and all of his mind."
Mitch McConnell memorializes Graham
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, taking to the microphone, said Graham's story is more than a man's success story.
"At first blush, the life of Billy Graham sounds like a personal success story," McConnell said.
But there's more than that to Graham, he said.
"But the most remarkable thing about Billy Graham is that this isn't his story," he said -- it was about preaching the gospel.
Billy Graham's casket arrives to Capitol
Graham's casket arrives to the Capitol as family members watch armed services members carry him into the rotunda.
Lawmakers, the president, First Lady Melania Trump and others are gathered around to remember him.