First lady Melania Trump and members of the Bush family gathered Thursday in the East Room of the White House to unveil a postage stamp bearing the portrait of former first lady Barbara Bush. Dorothy Bush Koch, the late first lady's daughter, told attendees, "It's unlikely that Mom ever pictured herself on the postage stamp, and it's very likely that she would be wondering what all this fuss is about." The image on the stamp is Barbara Bush's official White House portrait, which hangs in the entrance to the East Wing, the AP reports. She is depicted in a black suit and purple blouse, wearing her hallmark triple strand of pearls.
Trump, Bush Koch, and Judy de Torok, a vice president at the US Postal Service, took turns sharing stories about Barbara Bush's life and achievements. Bush Koch held back tears recalling moments from her mother's early life. "Mom was never one to shy away from speaking the truth or taking a stand," she said. "With her signature white hair and pearls, she became an icon in her own right, and yet, even as a former first lady, she remained humble and humorous." Barbara Bush died in 2018 at age 92. She was married to President George HW Bush and the mother of former President George W Bush.
Bush championed literacy programs and helped destigmatized people with AIDs and HIV when she cradled an infant during a 1989 visit to a hospice for children with AIDS. Trump said she also appreciated how Bush inspired people to pursue their personal dreams and issued a call for a female American president. "Who knows?" Trump said. "Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps and preside over the White House, and I wish him well," she said to laughs. Bush is the eighth first lady to be honored with a US postage stamp. After a ceremony in Kennebunkport, Maine, where the Bush family compound is located, the stamp will go on sale June 10.
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