Washington – All five living US presidents are participating Jimmy Carter's funeral Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, a rare event that marks the first time leaders will gather in public since 2018.
President Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are attending the funeral service. Mr Biden was delivering the eulogy for the 39th president, who died on December 29 at the age of 100.
Presidents gather at Carter's funeral
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Mr Biden and first lady Jill Biden sat in the front row for the funeral service on Thursday, next to Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat behind him, with Bush and former first lady Laura Bush sitting next to Obama, Trump and former first lady Melania Trump. Obama and Trump could be seen talking and occasionally smiling before the service began. Former first lady Michelle Obama was not in attendance.
Behind the row of presidents and first ladies also sat former Vice President Al Gore and Mike Pence, who shook Trump's hand as he arrived for the service.
President Gerald Ford's son Steven Ford read a tribute on his father's behalf during the ceremony, as the late president quipped that “two presidents in one room is one too many” while the five attendees smiled and laughed.
When was the last rites of the last President held?
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Five presidents from different parties, some of whom have been political rivals, gathered last George H.W. Bush's funeral In December 2018. Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter were also in attendance.
According to the Congressional Research Service, eleven presidents have been honored with a state funeral. Like Carter, state funerals often include military honors, state honors in the Capitol Rotunda, and often a memorial service in the National Cathedral.
Usually former Presidents also attend the inauguration. But Trump chose not to attend after Mr Biden's victory in 2020. Carter, who was 96 at the time, was also not in attendance, which marked the first time since he was in office that he did not attend an inauguration ceremony.