( CNN) As he listened to military choirs and honor guards venerate George H.W. Bush on Wednesday, President Donald Trump procured himself contemplating the vast scale of the job he holds –and wondering how his own legacy might compare.

Seeing the traditional rites of a state funeral up close impressed Trump, a chairwoman highly attuned to ceremony and pomp, are in accordance with people he spoke with afterward, and resulted him to consider how his own presidency will be remembered when the time comes.

“The memorial was a beautiful tribute to President Bush's extraordinary life and a noble legacy to public service, ” Trump said at a Hannukah reception Thursday in the East Room. “He was a wonderful man. We will always remember this great statesman and beloved American patriot. He actually was very special.”