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ALL FIVE LIVING US PRESIDENTS UNITE AT FUNERAL OF JIMMY CARTER
Former President Barack Obama and incoming commander-in-chief Donald Trump were seen chatting as American leaders gathered to pay their respects to Carter.
The one-term president died on Christmas Eve in Plains, Georgia after spending more than a year in a hospice. His death was confirmed by his son – who called him a hero.
Jimmy Carter was the 39th U.S. President, a Democrat, and served in the White House between 1977 and 1981 – but lost a re-election bid to Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Joe Biden all gathered on Thursday to attend his state funeral in Washington D.C.
In surprising scenes, long-time rivals Obama and Trump were pictured laughing and chatting ahead of the ceremony.
Melania Trump also made a rare public appearance alongside her husband, as did former White House hopeful and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Mr Biden, a long-time Carter ally, will deliver a eulogy at the service.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, was also pictured in attendance alongside her husband.
It marks the first time Ms Harris has been pictured alongside Mr Trump since his storming election victory in November.
After the funeral, the Boeing 747 that is Air Force One when a sitting president is aboard will carry Mr Carter and his family back to Georgia.
An invitation-only funeral will be held at Maranatha Baptist Church in tiny Plains, Georgia, where he taught Sunday School for decades after leaving office.
Mr Carter will be buried next to his wife in a plot near the home they built before his first state Senate campaign in 1962 and where they lived out their lives with the exception of four years in the Georgia Governor’s Mansion and four years in the White House.
