In a rare display of unity in today’s divided America, all five living US presidents came together on Thursday to honour Jimmy Carter at a solemn state funeral held at Washington’s National Cathedral.
In historic scenes just 11 days before Donald Trump returns to the White House for what promises to be a turbulent second term, Trump shook hands with former president Barack Obama on the country’s day of mourning.
With Carter’s flag-draped coffin nearby, outgoing President Joe Biden and former leaders George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were also there to honour America’s 39th commander-in-chief, who died on December 29 at the age of 100.
Biden, 82, delivered the eulogy for his fellow Democrat and old friend, hailing Carter’s “character” and saying that while he appeared to be from a bygone era, “in reality, he saw well into the future.”
He also appeared to deliver a veiled swipe at Trump, the Republican whose racially charged rhetoric and efforts to overturn the 2020 election he has often criticized as dire threats to democracy.
“We should give hate no safe harbour and stand up to… the greatest sin of all, the abuse of power,” said Biden.
Carter was widely perceived as naive and weak during his single term from 1977 to 1981, but a more nuanced view has emerged as the years passed, focusing on his decency and foreign policy achievements.
Family members and former political adversaries alike paid emotional tributes to Carter, the oldest ever former US president and the only one to make it to three figures.
Thousands of mourners had paid their respects in the domed Rotunda after it arrived in the snow-covered Capitol on Tuesday atop a gun carriage.
The presidential funeral was the first since George H.W. Bush died in 2018 — and provided a series of unique and sometimes awkward moments as former leaders met.
Obama shook hands, laughed and chatted with his successor Trump, even though the billionaire built his political movement on questioning whether Obama was a US citizen.
In the row in front of Trump sat Vice President Kamala Harris, his defeated rival in the 2024 election.
Carter’s funeral is meanwhile a brief respite from an already tumultuous run-up to Trump’s inauguration on January 20, and a reminder of a very different style of president.
