It was meant to be a solemn goodbye, a state funeral for America’s longest-living president, Jimmy Carter. But amid the silence of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., an unexpected conversation was unfolding between two of America’s most famous political rivals. According to a new book titled 2024 by reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf, Donald Trump turned to Barack Obama during the service and made a surprising offer, “Let’s play golf.”
The moment might have passed unnoticed if not for the lip-readers and camera angles that captured the rare display of laughter between the two political stalwarts. Trump, seated to Obama’s left, reportedly tried to charm him with vivid descriptions of his global golf empire, 15 courses in total, including resorts in Scotland, Ireland, the UAE, and across the US. Whether Obama laughed at the offer itself or something else Trump said remains unclear, but the gesture was, by all accounts, strikingly out of character given their turbulent history.
‘The longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley’
The book’s revelation follows earlier coverage by the Daily Mail, which used forensic lip reading to piece together parts of the exchange. Trump, according to expert Jeremy Freeman, also suggested the two find a “quiet place” to continue talking after the funeral. White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, known for his fiery style and loyalty to Trump, described their dynamic in Silicon Valley soap-opera terms, but in this case, it was the Washington version playing out under stained-glass windows.
The image of Trump and Obama sharing jokes in public is hard to reconcile with their past. Trump infamously led the birther conspiracy that falsely questioned Obama’s birthplace, setting the tone for years of tension between the two. At George H.W. Bush’s funeral in 2018, they didn’t sit next to each other, Melania Trump was placed in between, and there was little interaction. But at Carter’s service on January 9, 2025, Trump was flanked by Melania and Obama. This time, the mood seemed noticeably lighter. Even Trump seemed surprised by how cordial they looked on camera. “They look like two people that like each other,” he later said, watching the footage back.
When presidents talk privately
Their last confirmed private conversation took place in the White House shortly after Trump’s 2016 victory. It was a tense but essential handoff, during which Obama warned his successor that North Korea’s nuclear program would be his gravest foreign policy threat. Since then, their paths have crossed at public events, but never quite like this. There is no word on whether Obama ever accepted Trump’s golf invitation. But in a world where every political move is scrutinised, even a few whispered words between rivals can stir up curiosity and perhaps even hint at something deeper, the possibility that, despite everything, some lines of communication remain open. For now, it’s just a story shared in a book. But it is also a moment, a surprising, almost cinematic scene that reminds us politics is still very much about people.
