Handshakes, chit chats and steely looks: All the awkward interactions between presidents at Jimmy Carter’s funeral
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Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, not known for being best buddies, engaged in some friendly chit-chat and shared a few laughs. Instances when all five living presidents come together are rare. But for Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday, they were all there.
![[President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump’s extended conversation raised eyebrows on social media.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/09/15/GettyImages-2192480195.jpg)
President-elect Donald Trump was the first to arrive alongside former and future First Lady Melania Trump. Barack Obama, the Clintons, Bushes and Bidens were also in attendance. Michelle Obama was the only living first lady who was absent, with reports claiming she was in Hawaii.
![[Barack Obama and Donald Trump seemed to enjoy eachother’s company more than some of the other former presidents gathered in Washington, D.C.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/09/15/GettyImages-2192479991.jpg)
Outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were the last to take their seats among a sea of lawmakers and members of previous administrations. Given the funeral’s proximity to the election — and the heated rhetoric over the past few years — some notably awkward moments were spotted by those watching the service.
![[A rare instance when all five living presidents were gathered in the same place - and it wasn’t without incident.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/09/16/GettyImages-2192480203.jpg)
Trump came face to face with his former Vice President Mike Pence, and the two exchanged a few words and an awkward handshake, which is perhaps the most anyone could have hoped for given that their partnership ended with a crowd of Trump supporters calling for his second-in-command’s hanging during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
![[Vice President Kamala Harris shared a few words with former President George Bush towards the end of proceedings.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/09/16/GettyImages-2192483998.jpg)
Mike’s wife Karen Pence declined to shake hands with either of the Trumps. Sitting next to Pence was Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore, who gave Trump a steely look as he walked by. Obama and Trump, not known for being best buddies, raised eyebrows as they engaged in some friendly chit-chat and shared a few laughs at the otherwise somber event.
![[Former President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton mostly spoke to each other during the ceremony.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/09/16/GettyImages-2192483726.jpg)
