Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Donald Trump, the disruptive, anti-establishment president who spent years deriding much of what George H.W. Bush stood for, set aside differences in politics and temperament Saturday to honor the iconic American and former president a day after his death.

Trump declared a period of national mourning and ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days to honor a man of “sound judgment, common sense and unflappable leadership.” The president and first lady Melania Trump added that Bush had “inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service.”

Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, was 94.

The quarter-century since Bush left office featured his Republican Party’s steady march away from his steely pragmatism and international partnership, culminating in the dramatic break from long-held GOP principles ushered by Trump’s election. It coincided with a swing in the nation as a whole toward more tribal politics.

While Trump spoke graciously, he has not always been so kind to Bush or his family. He ran against one of Bush’s sons, Jeb Bush, in the GOP presidential primaries in 2016, and was sharply critical of the two-term presidency of another, George W. Bush. He shattered the unwritten norms of the small fraternity of Oval Office occupants by keeping up criticism of the Bushes from the West Wing.

The White House announced Saturday that the Trumps would attend a state funeral for the former president at Washington’s National Cathedral.

The announcement marked a reversal from earlier this year, when the president was pointedly not invited to the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush, the family matriarch and the late president’s wife of 73 years. Melania Trump attended instead.

The Trumps were informed of Bush’s death late Friday while in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the Group of 20 summit of rich and developing nations.

Trump said he spoke with former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to express his sympathies. He praised the elder Bush, who died Friday, as “a high-quality man who truly loved his family.”

Sitting alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he refused to answer whether he had any regrets over his past criticism of the Bushes. He did say that Bush’s death “really puts a damper” on his participation at the summit.