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The funeral of President Jimmy Carter has come to a close.
The remains of the 39th president, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, will now be taken to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where a private ceremony will be held. There, the late president will be buried alongside Rosalynn Carter, his wife of 77 years.
All five living presidents — Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton — were in attendance. Obama and Trump even had a lengthy chat and shared a laugh.
Biden, a friend of Carter’s, delivered a eulogy at the service at the Washington National Cathedral.
“Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and through his life, taught me strength of character is more than title or the power we hold,” Biden said. “To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose: study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example. I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again.”
Thursday’s funeral marked the final tribute to the longest-living president as the six-day proceedings come to an end. Funeral services and ceremonies have taken place at the U.S. Capitol, the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, and in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
A professional lip reader reveals what Obama and Trump were talking about before Carter’s funeral
All five living presidents attended Jimmy Carter’s funeral at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday.
Obama sat next to President-elect Trump. The pair were seen chatting away ahead of the service — and they were even spotted laughing.
But a professional lip reader told the New York Post that the pair seemed to be discussing a serious matter.
Forensic lipreader Jeremy Freeman believed they were talking about international agreements — perhaps a pertinent subject, given that Trump in recent weeks has been pushing to expand the U.S.’s control to include Greeland, Canada, and the Panama Canal.
At one point, Trump appeared to have told Obama: “I’ve pulled out of that. It’s the conditions. Can you imagine that?”
Obama appeared to laugh and say he would before Trump said: “Call me at the foy after, yep,” seemingly referring to the cathedral’s foyer, Freeman interpreted.
Obama then said: “Can you just … it should be good.”
According to Freeman, Trump replied: “I can’t talk, we have to find a quiet place sometime. This is a matter of importance and we need to do this outside so that we can deal with it, certainly, today.”
All the awkward interactions between presidents at Jimmy Carter’s funeral
Instances when all five living presidents come together are rare. But for Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday, they were all there.
President-elect Donald Trump was the first to arrive alongside former and future First Lady Melania Trump. Barack Obama, the Clintons, Bushes and Bidens were also in attendance. Michelle Obama was the only living first lady who was absent, with reports claiming she was in Hawaii.
Outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were the last to take their seats among a sea of lawmakers and members of previous administrations. Given the funeral’s proximity to the election — and the heated rhetoric over the past few years — some notably awkward moments were spotted by those watching the service.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
ICYMI: Trump and Obama share a laugh at former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral
Biden hails Carter’s ‘strength of character’ in eulogy
President Joe Biden on Thursday eulogized the late former president Jimmy Carter as a man whose “deep Christian faith in God” had led him to lead an extraordinary and forward-looking life over the century he spent on the earth, one who “never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world .”
“Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people,” said Biden, who praised Carter as having seen “well into the future” even though he had appeared to many as being a relic of “a bygone era.”
“A white southern Baptist who led his son civil rights, a decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace, a brilliant nuclear engineer who led a nuclear nonproliferation, a hard working farmer who championed conservation and clean energy … through it all, he showed us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flows to others,” he said.
Andrew Feinberg has the story.
In photos: Jimmy Carter honored at Washington National Cathedral
What to know about national day of mourning for Jimmy Carter
The U.S. will honor the late President Jimmy Carter with a national day of mourning, which will see some offices closed for the day.
Carter died at the age of 100 on December 29. President Joe Biden used an executive order to declare January 9, the day of Carter’s state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral, a day of mourning.
Biden is set to deliver a eulogy, and President-elect Donald Trump has said that he will attend the ceremony. Flags are being flown at half-staff for the 30-day period following the late president’s death.
Gustaf Kilander has the full story.
ICYMI: Jason Carter delivers a eulogy for his grandfather Jimmy Carter
Who are Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s children?
When Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter entered the White House in 1977, they became the first couple since John F Kennedy to raise their children in the executive mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Over the years, their family continued to grow in size, with nearly two dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren added to the Carter clan.
“We have a big family now. We have 22 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, 38 of us in all,” Carter told CNN in 2015.
Read the full story.
ICYMI: Karen Pence doesn’t shake Trump or Melania’s hand at Jimmy Carter’s funeral
Funeral services come to a close
The funeral services at Washington National Cathedral have concluded.
The late president’s casket is being carried out of the cathedral and into the hearse on the way to Joint Base Andrews.
Then, there will be a private ceremony and burial in Plains, Georgia, his hometown.
