It is unusual for five living presidents to attend former President Jimmy Carter's funeral on Thursday at the same time.
It is unusual for five living presidents to gather together. Before 1991, the only time in U.S. history when five or more presidents were alive at the same time was around 1861.
On Thursday, Donald J. Trump, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton met together for the first time since 2018.
Below are some recent examples of such gatherings.
last presidential funeral
On December 5, 2018, George Herbert Walker Bush's funeral was attended by five former presidents, including Bush's son George W. Bush.
Trump, the president at the time, did not speak at the funeral because of his strained relationship with the Bush family. He had mocked President Bush's volunteerism slogan, “A Thousand Lights,” during a campaign rally, but speakers at his funeral praised the message.
During the funeral, Mr. Trump shook hands with Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump, who were sitting right next to him, but he also held hands to shake hands with Mr. Clinton and Mr. Trump's 2016 opponent Hillary. I never held out. Mr. Clinton turned a blind eye to Mr. Trump. Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter sat opposite the Clintons and did not interact with Trump.
As recently as 2023, all current and former first ladies attended Mrs. Carter's funeral: Jill Biden, Mrs. Trump, Mrs. Obama, Mrs. Clinton, and Laura Bush. Presidents Joe Biden, Clinton, and Carter also attended.
presidential celebration
Presidents often seem to put aside their differences for funerals, but they have also come together for library dedications.
On April 25, 2013, all five presidents attended the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas: Obama, Clinton, Carter, and Bush.
“Sometimes people disagree,” the younger Bush told the crowd of several thousand people.
“It is no exaggeration to say that I have created many opportunities to exercise that right,” he said. “But when future generations come to this library and learn about this administration, they will know that we stayed true to our beliefs.”
Unite in memory of Reagan
On June 11, 2004, while President George W. Bush was in office, he spoke at former President Ronald Reagan's funeral, as did his father, who served as Mr. Reagan's vice president for two terms.
“Ronald Reagan is obsolete,” the younger Bush said. “But we liked it better when he was ours.”
Former President Gerald R. Ford attended the funeral, as did Mr. Clinton and Mr. Carter.
say goodbye to nixon
Former President Richard M. Nixon's funeral on April 27, 1994 was the first for an American head of state since Lyndon B. Johnson's funeral in 1973.
In his remarks, then-President Clinton acknowledged that Nixon's record, including his administration's role in Watergate and Vietnam war policy, was marred by errors and controversy.
“May the day be over when we judge President Nixon on anything other than his life and career,” Clinton said.
Mr. Ford, Mr. Carter, Mr. Reagan, and Mr. Bush also attended.
gatherings make history
On November 4, 1991, five American presidents met in the same place, in what The New York Times reported was a “first in history.”
Friends of the president gathered for the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
As Mr. Nixon, Mr. Ford, Mr. Carter and Mr. Bush attended the ceremony with Mr. Reagan, as well as six first ladies and two of Mr. Kennedy's children, one Ronald Reagan Foundation official said, He called the event “the largest gathering ever of an American president and his family.”
