A photo shared by Vice President Kamala Harris from the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral has sparked online conversation — mainly for who it left out.
The funeral for the 39th president of the United States was held at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday (January 9), where all five living presidents and several prominent political figures gathered to pay their respects.
President Joe Biden had declared January 9 a national day of mourning for Carter, who passed away on December 29 at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
Carter became the oldest president in US history and the very first to reach the age of 100.
Paying her respects on Instagram, outgoing Vice President Harris shared a photo from the day, showing her surrounded by a number of US political figures.
“President Jimmy Carter loved our country. He lived his faith, served the people, and left the world better than he found it,” Harris wrote in the caption accompanying the post. “President Carter’s many contributions will echo for generations to come.”
However, while President-elect Donald Trump attended the Washington, D.C., funeral – alongside the other four living presidents – he was noticeably absent from the photo posted by Harris.
The image shared on her official social media accounts depicts Harris, President Joe Biden, and former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, all standing with their hands over their hearts during the ceremony.
But Trump and incoming First Lady Melania Trump – who were seated next to Obama during the event – were not included in the picture.
Although it remains unclear whether Trump’s exclusion was deliberate or if the photo was specifically cropped, social media users were quick to call attention to Trump’s absence, with some finding humor in the situation.
“Best photo crop of the decade,” one Instagram commenter wrote, with another adding: “My president with the crop.”
Another user chimed in, “I immediately laughed when I saw this image. I love a good cropped photo.”
However, Trump certainly had his supporters in the comments section, with one person commenting: “Going to be hard to crop him out next time when he’s front and center and [you’re] a few rows back.”
Another added: “Well you won’t be able to crop out the next 4 years.”
“She got a Trump-free photo and we got a Kamala-free White House. Sounds like a win-win,” added another, with one Instagram user commenting: “And you were cropped out of the election.”
As previously mentioned, it is still unclear if Harris’ photo was edited in any way (as it does appear a pillar on the right-hand side would have blocked Trump’s presence anyway), but the choice of photo certainly got people talking.
Interestingly, The Carter Center, founded in 1982 by the late president and his wife Rosalynn Carter, also left the Trumps out of a series of funeral photos shared on their X (formerly Twitter) account.
Who Attended Jimmy Carter’s Funeral?
The following notable figures were among those present at the service:
- President Joe Biden
- President-elect Donald Trump
- Former President Barack Obama
- Former President George W. Bush
- Former President Bill Clinton
- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Vice President-elect JD Vance
- Former Vice President Mike Pence
- Former Vice President Dan Quayle
- Former Vice President Al Gore
- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
- First Lady Jill Biden
- Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff
- Incoming First Lady Melania Trump
- Former First Lady Laura Bush
Notably absent was former First Lady Michelle Obama, whose office did not provide details regarding her nonattendance.
Elsewhere during the day, former running mates Mike Pence and Donald Trump reunited for what is believed to have been their first meeting since Trump left office in 2021. Pence has since opened up about their conversation.
