Count CNN’s Jake Tapper among those who noticed a bit of frostiness between Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and their spouses at Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday.
The network star noted he did not see a “particularly warm” greeting between the quartet, who took their seats in the front pew of the Washington National Cathedral shortly before memorial proceedings began.
Tapper pointed out that the televised event was a funeral and that “one has to take that into account when trying to read the body language” of the group.
That addendum did not stop viewers from speculating about a potential White House rift, however.
No handshakes were exchanged between the Bidens, Harris, or Doug Emhoff. There also appeared to be little-to-no eye contact between them.
That lack of greeting was starkly different from how former presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush arrived at the event.
Trump, accompanied by a quiet Melania, spoke at length with Obama—who attended alone because Michelle had a prior commitment—and the two ex-presidents at times shared a laugh.
Bush, 78, was also chatty with those nearby—including former VP Mike Pence—and he gave his presidential successor a pat on the belly as he walked by. Obama, 63, reciprocated with a pat on Bush’s back.
The rapport in the front pew did not appear as friendly. The group—seated left to right as Joe, Jill, Harris, Emhoff—instead spurred even more speculation that there are tensions within the Biden administration as it inches torward its final week.
A Wall Street Journal report revealed last month that the relationship between Emhoff, Harris, and the Bidens has been “frosty at times” since Election Day.
Some have speculated the scope of Harris’ defeat, which saw her lose all seven swing states, has made the 82-year-old Biden regret dropping out of the race in July.
Tapper noted on air that Biden’s 2024 did not go the way he would have hoped entering the final full year of his presidency.
“There’s a President Joe Biden and first Lady Joe Biden. And I think he has 11 days left as president of the United States. Obviously an eventful year, one that he did not plan for,” he said. “Started the year as a would be Democratic presidential nominee, and we all know what happened after that. Again, you didn’t see a particularly warm greeting between the first couple and the second couple. But again, we are at a funeral, so one has to take that into account when trying to read the body language of the individuals there.”
