One minute, President Barack Obama is calling President-elect Donald Trump loopily old, saying “If your grandpa was acting like this, you’d be worried,” referring to him as “a fucking lunatic,” and taking the stage to diss him at the Democratic National Convention. The next minute, he appears to be laughing at the guy’s jokes and engaging in cordial conversation with the once and future President Trump.
Obama and Trump were seated next to one another at Thursday’s state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, who died in hospice on December 29, 2024, at 100 years old. All five living former presidents—George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and current president Joe Biden, in addition to Trump and Obama—were in attendance at Washington National Cathedral to pay their respects. Though these functions typically have a boy-girl-boy-girl seating chart, Michelle Obama was unable to attend the service, meaning that while Melania Trump sat on the outer aisle of the row, Barack and Donald were right next to each other, no spouse buffer in sight.
Asked about her absence, a spokesperson for Michelle Obama told Vanity Fair, “Former First Lady Michelle Obama is not in attendance at President Carter’s National Funeral Service. Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President.”
With the exception of Obama, all the former presidents’ spouses attended the service with them. Former Trump Vice President Mike Pence and wife Karen Pence were also at the service, marking the first time Pence and Trump have publicly met since the January 6 riots, as were Trump’s 2024 opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her husband Doug Emhoff.
Given the history and years of past barbs traded between the pair—Trump originated the birther myth and claimed that Obama wasn’t qualified to lead the country; Obama called Trump a “racist, sexist pig”—it wouldn’t be so surprising to see the two sit side-by-side in stoic silence. Instead, they appeared to have a cordial chat, even sharing a laugh. Harris sat in the row in front of the pair, staring straight ahead. When Bush, whose wife Laura Bush sat between her husband and Obama, headed to his chair, he ignored the Trumps completely and greeted Obama with a friendly swat as he passed his successor.
One social media user likened Obama to a parent entertaining a child “or they get cranky or may even whine,” while another pointed to the interaction as evidence of how “unserious” Democrats are. Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin interpreted it as Obama “kissing the ring” because “Trump is the most popular man in the world.” Sir, please share your sources and whatever you took that’s fueling such a flight of fancy. Of course, we have no way of knowing what the two actually said. It could easily have been a “laughing at” situation rather than a “laughing with,” and there’s plenty that can be said through clenched teeth shaped into a camera-ready smile. Try it: You don’t even have to part your teeth to tell someone to go to hell, if you put your mind to it.
Carter, who will be buried in his Georgia hometown in a private service Thursday afternoon, voted in his last presidential election in 2024, casting his vote via an absentee ballot for Harris. His family told the press that while in hospice Carter said he was “only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris.”
Representatives for Barack Obama and Donald Trump did not immediately respond to Vanity Fair’s requests for comment.
