Trump, Pence shake hands at Carter funeral in first public meeting since leaving office

President-elect Donald Trump and his former Vice President Mike Pence shook hands at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday in their first public interaction in four years.

Pence was seen standing up to shake Trump’s hand as the former president arrived inside Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral for the funeral. After the two acknowledged each other and appeared to say a few words, Pence shook the hand of former First Lady Melania Trump.

Former Second Lady Karen Pence, who was seated next to her husband, did not stand up, shake Trump’s hand, nor did she appear to acknowledge him.

Trump and Pence have not been seen publicly together since the two left the White House on rocky terms four years ago after not seeing eye to eye on the results of the presidential election and what legal recourse Trump had to contest it. 

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Former US Vice President Al Gore (L) watches as former Vice President Mike Pence (C) shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump before a State Funeral Service for former US President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2025. (Getty Images)

Pence briefly ran unsuccessfully for president against Trump in the 2024 presidential primary — dropping out in Oct. 2023 — and did not endorse Trump at any point leading up to the November election. 

The two have publicly criticized each other over the past few years, including in 2023 when Trump called Pence “delusional” and the former vice president said last year he could not “in good conscience” endorse Trump.

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From left, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, former President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump, arrive before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

All five living men who once occupied the White House — the so-called presidents’ club — President Biden and former presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and Trump were in the same room on Thursday for the first time since the 2018 funeral of former President George H.W. Bush.

Former Vice Presidents Dan Quayle and Al Gore were also in attendance. 

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Children watch as the hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter pauses outside the State Capitol in Atlanta, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Following the funeral, Carter’s remains will be flown to Georgia by the U.S. Air Force aboard Special Air Mission 39 for a private ceremony in his hometown of Plains.

Carter, the 39th president, died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100 after he was admitted to hospice care in 2023.