President Trump on Tuesday met with his predecessors for the first time since taking office at the state funeral of former President George H.W. Bush.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump entered the Washington National Cathedral, walking down the center aisle and to their seats in the front row next to former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. Both Trumps shook hands with each of the Obamas.
{mosads}Melania Trump shook hands with former President Clinton and appeared to wave to former first lady Hillary Clinton, who were seated next to the Obamas, before sitting down. But President Trump and the Clintons did not appear to acknowledge each other, yet another sign the wounds have not healed from Trump and Hillary Clinton’s bitter presidential race in 2016.
The Trumps also did not greet former President Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who were sitting farther down the aisle.
All of the leaders and their wives then sat expressionless, making for a somewhat awkward moment between the former presidents ahead of the Bush funeral.
President Trump has had an acrimonious relationship with his predecessors, whom he has often criticized in the two years since taking office.
Former President Obama has responded in kind, campaigning against President Trump and the Republican Party in the 2018 midterm elections. Michelle Obama wrote in her book “Becoming” that she will “never forgive” President Trump for spreading the false rumor that her husband was born in Kenya and thus ineligible to serve as president.
But the moment was also remarkable in that it brought together five former presidents, despite the acrimony.
The Bush family, which has also come under fire from President Trump, invited him to the funeral in a show of national unity. Former President George W. Bush, who has spoken with President Trump since he entered the Oval Office, will eulogize his father at Wednesday’s service.
After entering the cathedral minutes later, George W. Bush shook hands with all four of the other presidents and their spouses before taking his seat across the aisle next to former first lady Laura Bush.
–Updated at 11:12 a.m.
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Live coverage: Washington honors George H.W. Bush with state funeral