Former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas, is opening up about his touching salute alongside former President George H.W. Bush’s coffin.
“I wanted to pay my respects, so I wanted to stand up and maybe bow my head,” the one-time Republican presidential nominee said in a Thursday interview on NBC’s “Today” show.
“But I got on my feet — it’s almost like my subconscious was moving my left arm. I didn't go there with the intent to salute, but I did.”
The 95-year-old Dole was helped out of his wheelchair to offer the tribute to Bush last month in the U.S. Capitol. The two men were once political rivals, who had become friends.
“You know, George Bush and I were close friends,” Dole said. “We also had some rather tough races against one another. But he was my friend and he did a great job as president. And so did his son.”
Dole’s wife, former Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole, said her husband's salute came at the perfect time.
“It just kind of gave people a lift at time when there's so much divisiveness,” she said.
Bush died Nov. 30 at his Houston home. He was 94.
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