O-CHARMER
Moment Donald Trump & Barack Obama joke beside icy Jill Biden & Kamala Harris in tense exchange at Jimmy Carter funeral
Relations between the two former presidents have been strained in recent years
PRESIDENT-elect Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama were spotted sharing a joke at the funeral of Jimmy Carter in an awkward moment before proceedings.
The 44th and 45th presidents were seen laughing in the second row at the National Cathedral in Washington DC behind an icy Jill Biden and Kamala Harris.
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Trump, with wife Melania sat to his left, was seen turning his head and body as he turned to say something to his predecessor.
Obama was seen chuckling several times as he lowered his head to hear what Trump was saying.
Relations between the two former presidents have been strained in recent years, with Obama recently cracking a double-entendre-laden joke about Trump's "obsession with crowd sizes" at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump was always a huge critic of Obama, repeatedly raising the disproven "birther" argument to claim that he could not be the US president because he was born in Kenya.
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However, Obama did not shake hands with Trump or Melania, despite shaking the hands of the other living presidents.
The cordial relations between Obama and Trump left many viewers of the funeral shocked.
One claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the pair were "talking like buddies at an NFL game."
They add that the First Lady and Vice President Harris, on the other hand, "look like they want to go at it."
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"How about the frost between Kamala and Dr Jill," a second wrote.
"You can feel the chill from the photo."
Former US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100 after nearly two years in a hospice
A third user wrote, "Wonder what Trump said that made Obama laugh so hard."
At one stage in proceedings, Harris appears to turn around and look at Obama and Trump in conversation.
"Harris notices Trump and Obama chatting in the background and she looks P***ED," another user wrote.
FROSTY RECEPTION
Fellow Republican Bush also pointedly did not shake Trump's hands, but slapped Obama in the stomach before shaking hands with the others.
Bill and Hillary Clinton appeared to ignore Bush, Obama, and Trump as they walked into the service and took their seats.
JIMMY CARTER - A CENTURY OF SERVICE
PRESIDENT Jimmy Carter died in December 2024 at the 100 after a truly remarkable life. From growing up in Depression-hit Georgia, to the White House, to decades of charity work, this is the story of his astonishing life.
- Oct 1, 1924 - James Earl Carter Jr. is born in Plains, Georgia, the first American president to be born in a hospital. His mom worked as a nurse. His father ran a general store
- Jun 1946 - Carter graduates from US Naval Academy. The following month, he marries Rosalynn Smith in his hometown. They remain married for almost 8 decades and have four children, John William, James Earl 3rd, Donnel Jeffrey, and Amy Lynn
- 1946-53 - Carter serves in a Navy nuclear submarine program, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander
- 1953 - Carter returns to Plains after his father's death and helps run the family's peanut farm business for the next 18 years
- 1963 - Carter is elected to the Georgia state Senate
- 1970 - Carter is elected governor of Georgia
- Jul 1976 - He accepts the Democratic nomination for president, announcing Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale as his running mate
- Nov 1976 - Carter defeats Republican President Gerald Ford, winning 51% of the vote and 297 electoral votes to Fords's 240
- Sep 1977 - US and Panama sign treaties to return Panama Canal back to the country in 1999. Trump has talked this year of reclaiming it from Panama
- Sep 1978 - Carter oversees the signing of Camp David accords, leading to peace deal between Israel and Egypt the following year
- Jun 1979 - Carter and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev agree to nuclear arms reduction with the signing of the SALT II treaty
- Nov 1979 - The Iranian hostage crisis begins as militants storm the US Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 prisoners. The hostages will not be freed until 1981, minutes after Carter leaves office
- November 1980 - Carter loses the presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan, who wins 51.6% of popular vote to Carter's 41.7. Independent John Anderson wins 6.7%
- 1982 - Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter co-found The Carter Center in Atlanta. Its aim is to resolve conflicts, protect human rights, and prevent disease around the world
- Sep 1984 - The Carters spend a week building Habitat for Humanity houses. It will become the annual Carter Work Project
- 1989 - 1999 - Carter travels the world engaging in peace talks in various conflict and scenes of tension, including North Korea, Bosnia, Sudan, and Haiti
- Aug 1999 - Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton
- Dec 2002 - Carter is awarded the Nobel Peace Price
- Oct 2014 - Carter celebrates his 90th birthday
- Dec 2014 - He is nominated for a Grammy in the best spoken word album category for his book A Call To Action
- Aug 2015 - Carter has a small cancerous mass removed from his liver
- May 2016 - He steps back from his "front-line" worjk
- 2018 - Carter publishes Faith: A Journey for All. It is his 32nd - and last - book
- Mar 2019 - Carter becomes the longest-lived US president, surpassing President George HW Bush, who died in 2018
- 2019 - Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter deliver their final in-person report at The Carter Center. Carter suffers a fall, but still joins in the Work Project with Habitat for Humanity in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the last time he will work personally on the annual project
- Jan 2021 - The Carters miss President Joe Biden's inauguration, the first they haven't attended since Carter's own in 1977
- Feb 2023 - Carter enters home hospice care after several short hospital stays
- Jul 2023 - The Carters celebrate their 77th and final wedding anniversary
- Nov 2023 - Rosalynn dies at home
- Oct 2024 - Carter becomes the first former US president to reach age 100. That same month, he casts a Georgia mail ballot for Democrat Kamala Harris
- Dec 2024 - Carter dies at home. His funeral is held the following month in Washington DC
Obama's wife Michelle was not in attendance at the funeral of America's longest-living president, who died at age 100 last month after almost two years in hospice care.
A spokeswoman for the former First Lady confirmed that she is in Hawaii and had a scheduling conflict that prevented her from attending the service.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Carter's funeral has created the rare opportunity for five living presidents to be together in one place.
Before 1991, there was only one other period in US history when more than five presidents were alive at the same time - around 1861.
The last presidential funeral was George HW Bush's in December 2018, attended by five former presidents, including Carter.
In 2023, all of the current and former first ladies were in attendance for the funeral of Carter's late wife, Rosalynn.
Before the service began, Trump was also spotted shaking hands with his former Vice President Mike Pence.
It marked the first time the pair have been seen publicly in the same room in four years.
Mike Pence's wife Karen was filmed staring down Melania as she refused to shake Trump's hand.
Carter's coffin was transported to Washington's National Cathedral on Thursday morning after lying in state for two days in the Capitol.
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Following the service, at which President Joe Biden will speak, his body will be returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
He will be buried alongside his late wife at a private ceremony.
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