All five living presidents have arrived at National Cathedral for Jimmy Carter’s funeral and two of them are getting along swimmingly.
It is the the first time all five have been together since Donald Trump won a second term in the White House. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton campaigned heavily against him. George W. Bush declined to endorse the nominee of his party.
But old campaign slights appeared to be forgotten – by some at least.
Obama is seated next to Trump and the two men exchanged cordial words, as Melania sat nearby. Michelle Obama was not at the funeral.
The talk continued as Obama and Trump spent several minutes before the funeral’s start having a lively conversation, whispering back and forth to one another.
Trump also had a cordial moment with Mike Pence, his former vice president who he pressured to overturn the 2020 election results. Pence refused and Trump’s MAGA supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6th shouted ‘hang Mike Pence.’
But the two men shook hands ahead of Carter’s service. However, Karen Pence, seated next to her husband, pointedly refused to shake Trump’s hand, remaining her seat.
Barack Obama and Donald Trump had a lively conversation at Jimmy Carter’s state funeral as Melania Trump sat next to them
Kamala Harris didn’t acknowledge Donald Trump – above former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, his wife Laura Bush, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, President-elect Donald rump and his wife Melania Trump
Donald Trump shakes hands with Mike Pence
George W. Bush and Laura Bush arrived at the service after Obama, followed by Bill and Hillary Clinton.
When the presidents were last together in November 2018 for former President George H.W. Bush’s funeral, the atmosphere was notably chilly.
Thursday’s gathering appears slightly warmer – for the most part.
There was still evidence of smoe hard feelings.
The Clintons didn’t acknowledge Trump nor did Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff, who are seated in the row ahead of the former presidents. Harris walked in looking straight ahead, not acknowledging the man who beat her in November.
Invited guests to Thursday’s state funeral include members of Congress, the cabinet, Supreme Court justices, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, members of the diplomatic corps and White House staff members.
Current and former vice presidents, including JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Al Gore and Mike Pence also are in attendance.
President Biden will deliver a eulogy, and the eulogies written by former President Gerald Ford and former Vice President Walter Mondale before their own deaths will be read by their sons, Steven Ford and Ted Mondale.
Carter defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential election but the two men stuck up a strong, post-presidency friendship.
They agreed that whichever of them outlived the other would speak at the first person’s funeral. Carter eulogized Ford after he died in 2006 at the family’s private ceremony.
But Ford found a way to keep his end of the bargain.
Prince Edward of the United Kingdom (left) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (center) attend Carter’s funeral
Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence (left) and Trump’s incoming Vice President J.D. Vance (right) both attended the funeral
Trump and his wife Melania paid their respects to Carter in the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday night. They also met with members of the Carter family at Blair House.
The president-elect has been critical of Carter, particularly slamming him for returning control of the Panama Canal to Panama.
‘He was a good man. I knew him a little bit, and he was a very fine person, but that was a big mistake,’ Trump said on Tuesday.
Carter died on December 29th at the age of 100, the first former president to make it to the centurion mark.
Born in 1924, he grew up on a Georgia peanut farm and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
He entered politics and in 1970 was elected governor of Georgia.
Carter only served one term in the White House before losing to Ronald Reagan.
He became more known for his post-presidency work and established the model for the modern former president.
He founded the Carter Center and worked with Habitat For Humanity, building houses for those in need. In 2002 he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
He lay in state at the Capitol for two days where hundreds of people braved the cold, snowy conditions to pay their respects.
Vice President Kamala Harris led the mourners at the Capitol, where she praised Carter’s years of service to the nation.
‘Jimmy Carter was that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace,’ she said.
Before the final trip to Washington, the 39th president had been lying in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta where visitors could stop by to give their final farewells.
More than 23,000 mourners paid their respects to the former president in Georgia, according to the Carter Center.
The flag-draped casket of Jimmy Carter lay in state in the US Capitol Rotunda
Carter’s remains leave the U.S. Capitol ahead of his state funeral
Long lines of people formed around the Capitol to pay tribute to Carter
Jimmy Carter will be buried next to Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years – above the couple in 1966 when Carter was elected to the state Senate
After Thursday’s state funeral, Carter’s remains will return to Georgia after the service.
He will be buried next to his wife Rosalynn in a private interment at their Georgia peanut farm. President and Rosalynn Carter were married for 77 years until the former first lady passed away in November 2023.
The U.S. Navy will fly over in a missing man formation in honor of Carter’s naval service and time as commander in chief.
Carter is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
