As they filed into the front pews at Washington National Cathedral, wearing dark suits and mostly solemn faces, five current and former presidents came together for former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
For a service that stretched more than an hour, the feuding, grievances and animosity that had marked their rival campaigns and divergent politics gave way to a reverential moment for one of their own.
Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the first two of the group to take their seats Thursday, shook hands and chatted at length. Trump, the former president who will retake the Oval Office in 10 days, leaned in and listened intently to his predecessor. At times, the two flashed smiles.
Former President Barack Obama, who attended without his wife, Michelle, shared a second-row pew with former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with their spouses.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived last and sat in the pew just in front of them.
Funerals are among the few events that bring members of the presidents’ club together.
In a way, former President Gerald Ford was there, too: Ford’s son Steven read a eulogy for Carter that Ford had written before he died in 2006.
Jimmy Carter formally named, James Earl Carter Jr was the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He died in December 2024 at the age of 100 years old.
