Five present and former presidents gathered within the entrance pews of Washington National Cathedral for Jimmy Carter’s funeral, wearing darkish fits and sporting solemn expressions.
As the service stretched for greater than an hour, the bitterness and divisions from their previous campaigns and political variations gave approach to a reverent tribute for one in every of their very own.
Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the primary to reach, exchanged a handshake and engaged in a prolonged dialog.
Despite their stark political divide, Trump, who is ready to reclaim the Oval Office in simply 11 days, leaned in to hear carefully to his predecessor, at instances sharing a smile.
Later that night time, Trump returned to his Mar-a-Lago membership in Florida to satisfy with Republican governors.
When requested about his dialog with Obama, he remained tight-lipped however quipped, “It did look very friendly, I must say.”
“I didn’t realize how friendly it looked. I said, ‘Boy, they look like two people who like each other, and we probably do,” he mentioned. “We have a little different philosophies, right, but we probably do.”
The president-elect added, “I don’t know. We just got along. But I got along with just about everybody.”
Obama, who attended Carter’s funeral with out his spouse, Michelle, shared a second-row pew with former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, together with their spouses.
President Joe Biden and first girl Jill Biden arrived final and sat within the pew simply in entrance of them.
Members of the unique presidents’ membership have been on their greatest conduct.
Bonded by the presidency, they hardly ever criticize each other or the White House’s present occupant – although Trump has flouted these guidelines incessantly.
He has each praised and criticized Carter in current days, and he complained that flags would nonetheless be at half-staff to honor the deceased president throughout his inauguration.
In one seemingly chilly second, Trump regarded up when Vice President Kamala Harris – whom he defeated in November’s hard-fought election – entered the cathedral, however he did not transfer to greet her as she and husband Doug Emhoff took seats straight in entrance of him and Melania Trump.
Nor did Harris acknowledge him.
After the service, Emhoff made a degree to show round and shake arms with Trump.
Obama, with Trump on his left, additionally turned to his proper to speak with Bush. Clinton, with spouse Hillary, was the final of the ex-presidents to sit down and exchanged pleasantries with Bush as nicely.
The White House mentioned the previous presidents additionally met privately earlier than taking their seats. There was no phrase on what was mentioned then, although Trump later mentioned of its members, “We all received alongside very nicely.”
Funerals are among the many few occasions that convey members of the Presidents’ Club collectively. In a approach, former President Gerald Ford was there, too: Ford’s son, Steven, learn a eulogy for Carter that Ford had written earlier than he died in 2006.
Busy with private pursuits, charitable endeavors and generally profitable talking gigs, the previous leaders don’t mingle typically. They all know the protocol of state funerals nicely – every has been concerned in planning his personal.
During the 2018 funeral for George H.W. Bush, then-President Trump sat together with his predecessors and their spouses, together with the Carters, and the interactions have been stiff and generally awkward.
This time, Trump additionally did not seem to work together with Hillary Clinton, whom he defeated within the 2016 election.
Trump was seated within the pew in entrance of his former vice chairman, Mike Pence – one of many few instances they’ve coincided at occasions since Pence refused to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 election after Trump misplaced to Biden. The two shook arms however didn’t converse a lot past that. Pence’s spouse, Karen, appeared to keep away from participating with the president-elect.
Trump, who largely prevented contact with the previous presidents throughout his first time period – and pointedly didn’t search their recommendation – has been important of Republican former presidents, significantly the Bush household, which made him an uneasy member of the previous presidents’ membership. Carter didn’t significantly relish being a membership member, at instances criticizing its staid traditions.
Many previous presidents have constructed relationships with their predecessors, together with Bill Clinton, who reached out to Richard Nixon for recommendation on Russian coverage, and Harry S. Truman, who sought counsel from Herbert Hoover.
One of the primary calls Obama made after United States forces killed Osama bin Laden in 2011 was to George W. Bush to unfold the phrase that the mission had been achieved, mentioned Kate Andersen Brower, creator of *Team of Five: The Presidents Club within the Age of Trump.”
“It’s the loneliest job in the world, so usually they reach out and rely on each other,” mentioned Andersen Brower. “But Trump didn’t have that in the first term, so this will just be another four years where he doesn’t depend on anyone who came before him.”
She famous that Carter spent years as a proud Washington outsider and skipped the disclosing of his personal portrait to keep away from being in the identical room with the person who beat him in 1980, President Ronald Reagan.
“Carter and Trump, even though they have the least in common about everything else, are similar,” Andersen Brower mentioned, “in just how they approach telling what they actually think.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com