President-elect Donald Trump went viral in a video last week that captured him sitting next to former President Barack Obama chatting and laughing while waiting for the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter to begin. The event honoring Carter’s life and work was held at the National Cathedral in Washington and featured many former commander-in-chiefs and vice presidents — life failed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and twice-failed candidate Hillary Clinton — in attendance.
Those who observed the two men were apparently stunned by the friendliness between the two very outspoken political nemesis. Many wondered what the pair were talking about during the interaction. Trump gave an explanation during a news conference held after the funeral.
“What were you talking to Barack Obama about?” Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked the incoming president. Trump put his sense of humor on full display and said, “It did look very friendly, I must say.”
“I didn’t realize how friendly it looked. I saw it on your wonderful network, just a little while ago before I came in, and I said, ‘Boy, they look like two people that like each other,'” he added. “And we probably do.”
“We have a little different philosophies, ” the president-elect explained. “I don’t know, we just got along.”
Imagine that. Two people who don’t believe the exact same thing getting along with one another. According to propagandists and politicians on the left that’s not supposed to happen. It’s not possible. And yet, here we are.
In other words, despite their deep and irreconcilable political differences, they’re adults who can set aside disputes to pay their respects to a colleague and the office they all held in common — and do it with civility and humor. (That might surprise some progressives who actually believed the Democratic campaign line about Trump being the resurgence of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.)
The interaction ended up going viral on social media.
Obama is acting quite friendly to someone he usually pretends to despise. It's almost like Trump isn't really that bad. Imagine that.
pic.twitter.com/xAuq5JVSFU— Damani Felder (@TheDamaniFelder) January 9, 2025
You’d think Obama just won the election the way he’s laughing as he talks to Trump at Jimmy Carter’s funeral pic.twitter.com/K8Nlrh2Xwj
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) January 9, 2025
Kamala Harris gets MAD seeing Obama talk to Trump
Watch until the end 😂 pic.twitter.com/UrbBUG6M1w
— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) January 9, 2025
In his comments, Trump appeared to indicate that his very public chumminess with his predecessor in the White House wasn’t the only warmth at the funeral. The public didn’t see the rest, he implied.
“But I got along with just about everybody on that,” he explained to the press. “You know, we met backstage before we went on, and I thought it was a beautiful service, but we all got along very well.”
That didn’t seem obvious to those who viewed the event or watched clips of its playback. Former President George W. Bush completely ignored Trump and walked past him, though he gave Obama a friendly pat to the stomach. Bush is not, nor has ever been, supportive of the president-elect. Why would he be? Trump humiliated his brother Jeb during the 2016 presidential cycle. Not to mention the Bush family are establishment to the core.
George W. Bush snubs Donald Trump, and acknowledges former President Obama at former President Jimmy Carter's state funeral.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/YW4RsmWTiF
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) January 9, 2025
It would be cool to know what Trump said that made Obama laugh. It was a genuine giggle too. Like old chums cracking a joke. Regardless, it would be nice if our country could heal enough from the massive divide the left has caused that we could get along with each other based on common shared values.