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Donald Trump Sitting Near The Obamas And Clintons At George H.W. Bush’s Funeral Was Extremely Awkward

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Former president George Herbert Walker Bush, who passed away last week, was laid to rest at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

In attendance were Donald and Melania Trump, and next to them, Barack and Michelle Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton. (It was the first time the president had seen his predecessors since his inauguration in 2017.) As you might imagine, the otherwise-solemn event was extremely awkward. As noted by Washington Post senior reporter Aaron Blake, the Trumps were seated in the same row as, “The president Trump said was illegitimate (Obama); 2) The president he said assaulted women (Clinton); 3) The first lady/SoS he said should be in jail (Hillary); 4) The president he said was the second-worst, behind Obama (Carter).” Trump reportedly shook hands with the Obamas, but failed to acknowledge both the Clintons and the Carters, Jimmy and Rosalynn.

The mood appeared friendly enough, until the Trumps arrived, and Hillary didn’t even look in his direction.

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Speaking on Fox News, Chris Wallace described the tension in the cathedral. “I have to say I was struck when President Trump and Melania Trump came to the front row, that it was as if a chill had descended on that front row,” he said. “You had seen a lot of chatty talk between the Clintons and the Obamas, the Carters. But when Donald Trump sat down, the greeting that he was given by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama was about as cool as it could have been.”

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During the funeral, George W. Bush remembered Bush Senior as the “best father a son or daughter could have” and an “empathetic man [who] valued character over pedigree… [He] showed me what it means to be a president who serves with integrity, leads with courage, and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country.” You can watch more from his speech below.