Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

White House explains why Obama won't be attending Antonin Scalia's funeral

Vice President Joe Biden will attend the Supreme Court justice's funeral.

Payton Guion
Payton Guion
Thursday 18 February 2016 22:47 GMT
Comments
President Obama will not be attending the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, instead he will pay respects on Friday.
President Obama will not be attending the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, instead he will pay respects on Friday. (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

President Barack Obama made what seemed like political waves on Wednesday, when it became known that he wasn't going to attend the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

But the White House said Thursday that all the noise is much ado about nothing.

"There's so much rancor in politics and partisanship that we allow ourselves to get drawn into different corners to the extent that some people actually want to use the funeral of a Supreme Court justice as some sort of political cudgel," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

"The president doesn't think that that's appropriate and, in face, what the president thinks is appropriate is respectfully paying tribute to high-profile patriotic American citizens, even when you don't agree on all the issues."

The President and Michelle Obama will pay respects on Friday, as Mr. Scalia's body lies in repose at the Supreme Court. Vice President Joe Biden will attend the funeral.

Politico reported that people close to the Scalia family have said that President Obama is making the right choice by attending the ceremony on Friday rather than the funeral.

Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in