From left, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Jimmy Carter listen as former President George W. Bush speaks during a State Funeral at the National Cathedral Dec. 5, 2018 in Washington, for former President George H.W. Bush. (AP Photo, Pool)
WASHINGTON 鈥� There was no mistaking the odd man out.
Wednesday鈥檚 funeral service for former President George H.W. Bush served as a rare reunion of the remaining members of the presidents club, but the front-row banter among Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and their spouses came to an uneasy end when President Donald Trump and wife Melania arrived.
The encounter was a real-time illustration of the uneasy ties between the current occupant of the White House and his predecessors, suggesting Trump as a member-in-name-only of the Oval Office fraternity. While the funeral ceremony itself was a warm celebration of the late president, the relationships between the surviving presidents are considerably cooler.
Trump gave the two Obamas a handshake before taking his seat in Washington鈥檚 National Cathedral without greeting the others. Hillary Clinton nodded at Melania Trump but then stared straight ahead.
The last of the five presidents to arrive was George W. Bush, who made a point to shake hands with all four couples 鈥� and appeared to share a moment of humor with Michelle Obama, slipping something into her hand. Bush then took his seat with the rest of the Bush family, across the aisle from the ex-presidents.
Some discomfort with Trump was perhaps to be expected.
Since his swearing-in, Trump has spurned most contact with his predecessors 鈥� and they have snubbed him in return. But while the staid group of Oval Office occupants has been disrupted since Donald Trump鈥檚 election, the Bushes had made it known to the White House months ago that, despite differences in policy and temperament, the late president wanted Trump to attend the national service.
The ceremony鈥檚 tributes at times stood as an unspoken counterpoint to Trump鈥檚 leadership, as historian Jon Meacham eulogized Bush by recounting his life鈥檚 credo: 鈥淭ell the truth, don鈥檛 blame people, be strong, do your best, try hard, forgive, stay the course.鈥� George W. Bush added of his father: 鈥淗e could tease and needle, but not out of malice.鈥�
The late Bush was the de facto chair of the modern incarnation of the president鈥檚 club, transcending contentious campaigns and party lines to bring together fractious personalities who share that rarified experience.
Trump has sought to meet the elder Bush鈥檚 passing with grace, a contrast to the rhythms of much of his tumultuous presidency. He came to office after a campaign in which he harshly criticized his Democratic predecessors and co-opted a Republican Party once dominated by the Bush family. Despite the traditional kinship among presidents, Trump鈥檚 predecessors have all made their discomfort known in different ways.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unusual that a cabal of ex-presidents from both parties dislike a sitting president and that鈥檚 what you鈥檝e got happening right now,鈥� said Douglas Brinkley, a history professor at Rice University.
The Trump-Obama handshake marked the first direct interaction between the current president and his immediate predecessor since Inauguration Day 2017. Trump has not spoken to Democrats Clinton or Obama since that day.
He did speak with the younger Bush during the contentious confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as the previous Republican president helped lobby for his former aide. Democrat Carter has been briefed by White House officials on North Korea, though it was not clear if he has engaged directly with Trump.
By virtue of health, longevity and opportunities for continued influence, ex-presidents are sticking around longer than ever and staying active in the public eye.
Past presidents often built relationships with their predecessors, Brinkley said. 鈥淏ill Clinton would reach out to Richard Nixon for advice on Russia,鈥� he said. 鈥淗arry Truman leaned heavily on Herbert Hoover. It鈥檚 endless.鈥�
To be sure, Brinkley added, those ties vary from president to president and there have been chilly relationships as well, noting, for example, that 鈥淔DR would never talk to Herbert Hoover.鈥�
Busy with a mix of personal pursuits, charitable endeavors 鈥� and, in some cases, paid speaking gigs 鈥� the former leaders don鈥檛 mingle very often, making a funeral in their group a big occasion. Bonded by the presidency, they tend to exercise caution in their comments about each other. Still, all the living former presidents have aimed barbs 鈥� directly or indirectly 鈥� at Trump.
In a speech in September, Obama slammed the 鈥渃razy stuff鈥� coming out of the White House without directly naming Trump. Last year, the younger Bush made a speech that confronted many of the themes of Trump鈥檚 presidency without mentioning him by name, cautioning that 鈥渂igotry seems emboldened鈥� and the nation鈥檚 politics 鈥渟eems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.鈥�
Over the summer, Carter told The Washington Post that Trump鈥檚 presidency was a 鈥渄isaster.鈥� And Clinton 鈥� stung by Trump鈥檚 defeat of wife Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race 鈥� told a weekly newspaper in New York state after her stunning loss that Trump 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 know much.鈥�
Even the late Bush鈥檚 feelings about Trump were harsh at times. In Mark K. Updegrove鈥檚 book 鈥淭he Last Republicans,鈥� published last year, the elder Bush called Trump a 鈥渂lowhard.鈥�
The late Bush said he voted for Clinton in 2016 while George W. Bush said he voted for 鈥渘one of the above.鈥�
There have been other moments when the ex-presidents offered more sympathetic sentiments for Trump. After Trump鈥檚 surprise victory, Obama stood in the Rose Garden at the White House and said he was 鈥渞ooting鈥� for the next president. Carter told The New York Times in 2017 the media had been harder on Trump than other presidents. Clinton said in June that America should be rooting for Trump to succeed in his North Korea talks.
While he has struggled to set the right tone in past moments of national grief, Trump has gone out of his way to address Bush鈥檚 passing with consideration, issuing kind statements and ensuring that Bush family members have whatever they need for the funeral. On Tuesday, first lady Melania Trump welcomed Laura Bush and other family members for a tour of the White House Christmas decorations. And Trump and the first lady visited with members of the Bush family at Blair House.