George W. Bush walked past Donald Trump and gave Barack Obama a tap on the belly as he arrived at his seat for Jimmy Carter’s funeral service on Thursday.
A two-second video of the interaction between the former presidents went viral, racking up tens of millions of views.
When Bush walked up to his row of seats at the Washington National Cathedral, Donald and Melania Trump were already seated there with Obama, whose wife, Michelle Obama, did not attend.
President-elect Trump and Obama were seen casually chatting as Bush was approaching. Obama stood as Bush arrived, but the Trumps did not. Bush gave Obama a belly tap and took a seat with his wife before turning to exchange greetings with former vice presidents seated behind him. Obama appeared to return Bush’s friendly gesture with a pat on the back.
“The belly tap is remarkable,” journalist Reese Gorman captioned the viral clip.
The belly tap is remarkable pic.twitter.com/bxj3wEETh2
— Reese Gorman (@reesejgorman) January 9, 2025
Bush shook hands with both Obama and Trump after the ceremony, according to Getty Images photographer Chip Somodevilla.
Barack Obama greets George W. Bush following the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral.
George W. Bush greets Donald Trump following the state funeral.All five living presidents gathered together to remember former President Carter, who died at 100 late last month.
Exchanges between those seated at the front of the ceremony generated a number of viral moments.
