MIKE PENCE/RELIGION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP FAMILY/MELANIA: “The Rev. Billy Graham, for half a century the world’s most famous evangelist and a pastor to presidents, will be memorialized at his funeral on Friday by his family and some of the preachers he inspired from around the globe…
When the funeral was planned, the expectation was that it would draw all or most of the living former presidents who were healthy enough to attend. Three of them came and spoke at the opening of the Billy Graham Library in 2007. But in the end, the only president to attend the funeral will be Donald J. Trump, who had less of a relationship with Mr. Graham than the five former presidents who are still alive, historians say.
Mr. Trump is expected to attend with the first lady, Melania. The president is not scheduled to speak, but it is possible he could be invited to offer remarks by Mr. Graham’s oldest son, Franklin, said Mark DeMoss, the spokesman for the Graham family.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, are also expected to attend. Franklin Graham, who inherited his father’s mantle as leader of his ministry, will preach. Franklin has been a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence.”
-Laurie Goodstein, “Billy Graham to Be Memorialized at Funeral, With Trump in Attendance,” The New York Times online, Mar. 2, 2018