President Donald Trump mourns Aretha Franklin’s passing

Turns out there’s something everyone in this big, divided country of ours can agree on:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Aretha Franklin.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to mourn the music icon’s passing. 

Trump didn’t mention if he’d ever seen a live performance by Franklin who died earlier Thursday at the age of 76 in her longtime home of Detroit. But in a way, she was the preferred singer of presidents, having performed at the inaugural festivities of three of Trump’s predecessors -- and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from a fourth. 

Former President Barack Obama also tweeted his condolences, including a photo of Franklin singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” at his first inauguration in January 2009.