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Obama laughs at Trump joke at funeral

Body language experts were having a field day as all five living US presidents sat together at Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Georgia.

Both sides of American politics came shoulder to shoulder in fascinating fashion as former president Jimmy Carter was farewelled on Friday (AEDT).

Former President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump shared a laugh - and it didn’t go unnoticed by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris appeared to let out a sigh after spotting the pair chatting good-naturedly ahead of the funeral in Georgia.

The veep glanced over her left shoulder to spy the commanders-in-chief seemingly getting along in the row behind her, before whipping back around and staring straight ahead.

She then exhaled and appeared to roll her eyes.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper also couldn’t help but notice the icy non-greeting that was exchanged between Harris and President Joe Biden, and their spouses.

All eyes were on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as they sat next to each other at Jimmy Carter's funeral
 

During CNN’s live broadcast of the funeral, Tapper observed that he “didn’t see a particularly warm greeting” between the Bidens and Harris, who was accompanied by her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Cameras were trained on the president and first lady as they made their way to their seats in the front pew — where Harris and Emhoff awaited them.

The first lady took her seat next to Harris with nary an acknowledgment or glance toward the vice president and second gentleman.The president, who was seated in the aisle seat, also didn’t appear to make any eye contact with the Emhoffs as he sat down.

In the ensuing moments after the four were seated, they all proceeded to wear expressionless faces as the memorial service got underway.

Tapper noted that the solemn occasion may have explained the lack of a greeting between the two couples — although recent reports indicate that the post-election bad blood runs deep.

“There’s President Joe Biden and First Lady Joe Biden. And I think he has 11 days left as president of the United States. Obviously an eventful year, one that he did not plan for,” Tapper noted.

 

From left to right front row, US President Joe Biden, First Lady Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamla Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, second row, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, his wife Laura Bush, former President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
From left to right front row, US President Joe Biden, First Lady Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamla Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, second row, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, his wife Laura Bush, former President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)


A similar scenario played out last month at the 47th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony where the Bidens didn’t greet or acknowledge Harris as they entered the Washington, DC, venue to a standing ovation.

Just days after the election, the first lady appeared to give Harris the cold shoulder during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Tapper noted that President Biden “started the year as a would be Democratic presidential nominee, and we all know what happened after that.”

Biden was forced out of the race by Democratic Party powerbrokers following his disastrous debate performance in late June in which he often failed to form coherent sentences and appeared frail and forgetful.

Harris was installed as the party’s nominee, which initially energised Democratic voters. But she faltered in the later stages of the race.

“Again, you didn’t see a particularly warm greeting between the first couple and the second couple. But again, we are at a funeral, so one has to take that into account when trying to read the body language of the individuals there,” Tapper said.

A White House official denied Tapper’s interpretation of the events, telling The Post: “That speculation is wrong. They were at a funeral.”

The New York Post engaged a professional lip reader to decipher what Trump may have been saying to Obama.

 

Obama laughs at something Trump said. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)
Obama laughs at something Trump said. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

Trump, 78, possibly wary of cameras facing the pair as they sat shoulder to shoulder, cautioned Obama, 63, that they would have to “find a quiet place” later in the day to discuss a “matter of importance,” according to forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman.

It’s unclear what precisely that conversation would entail, but Obama and Trump appeared to be discussing international agreements, according to Freeman’s translation.

At one point, Trump leaned toward Obama and said, “I’ve pulled out of that. It’s the conditions. Can you imagine that?” 

Obama laughed as Trump added, “and after, I will,” before the pooled TV camera feed cut away from the men, who were bracketed by former first lady Laura Bush and Trump’s wife Melania.

“Call me at the foy after, yep,” Trump replied to Obama during their exchange, possibly referring to the National Cathedral’s foyer.

Obama then said, “can you just … it should be good.”

“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,” Trump said, as Obama nodded.

During Trump’s first term, he notably pulled out of Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement, though it’s unclear if those pacts were what was being discussed. 

 

Obama and Trump engaged in a good-natured chat. (Photo by Ricky Carioti / AFP)
Obama and Trump engaged in a good-natured chat. (Photo by Ricky Carioti / AFP)

Freeman, who is based in London, was born deaf and for 16 years has served as a University College London-certified expert witness for litigants, the police and journalists.

Trump and Obama have had tense relations for more than a decade, resulting in widespread surprise at their seemingly cordial interaction.

The 45th president was a leading figure in the “birther” movement questioning whether the 44th president secretly was born in Kenya. The rumours led to Obama releasing the long-form version of his Hawaiian birth certificate in 2011.

After the 2016 election, Trump accused Obama of ordering the feds to “spy” on his campaign over alleged ties to Russia. He typically uses Obama’s full legal name and emphasises the middle name, Hussein.

Obama, meanwhile, stunned viewers by appearing to make a lewd joke about his successor’s manhood by mocking his “weird obsession with crowd sizes” while holding his hands about four inches apart at the Democratic National Convention in August.

The first black president also mocked Trump in October for delivering lengthy speeches “like Fidel Castro — just on and on” and his “constant attempts to sell you stuff,” such as golden sneakers and Trump-branded Bibles.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission.

Author: Editors Desk

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

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