Melania Trump among first ladies invited to Rosalynn Carter’s funeral

As Rosalynn Carter’s family mourns her death, they are putting aside their differences with Donald Trump, including insults the 45th president hurled at Jimmy Carter at a campaign event last weekend, to invite Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, to the former first lady’s funeral.

The Washington Post has reported that Melania Trump has been invited to the service for Rosalynn Carter in Plains, Georgia, next Wednesday. Rosalynn Carter died at her home in Plains, Georgia, Sunday at the age of 96, two days after she entered hospice care. Jimmy Carter, her husband of 77 years, was by her side, the Washington Post said.

As the Carter family is preparing for Rosalynn Carter’s funeral, they are keeping in mind that she was a member of a unique group of women: presidential first ladies. All first ladies have been invited to the service, the Washington Post said. This means the world could see Melania Trump at the same event as Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.

Perhaps all five women could sit together in the same pew at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, though Jill Biden may sit with her husband, Joe Biden, who also has been invited. It’s not clear from the Washington Post story whether other presidents will attend.

Rosalynn Carter was “a gracious person” who “would treat everybody with respect,” including Melania Trump, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s son, James E. “Chip” Carter III, told the Washington Post. His mother was involved in the decision to invite Melania Trump, the Washington Post reported.

It would be monumental to see Melania Trump sitting near Jill Biden. The former model notoriously broke a nearly 70-year tradition and didn’t invite Jill Biden, as the incoming first lady, to “a tea and tour” of the White House after her husband defeated Trump in the 2020 election.

The “tea and tour” tradition began in 1952 when Bess Truman invited Mamie Eisenhower to get a look at the place she would be calling home before she moved in. This gesture of good will was honored by every succeeding first lady until Melania Trump broke the tradition, at the behest of her husband, her former White House aide Stephanie Grisham said last year, Yahoo News reported.

Trump didn’t want to leave the White House after his defeat. He claimed that the 2020 election was stolen and he pushed false claims of voter fraud, notably at the Jan. 6, 2021, rally of his supporters before they stormed the U.S. Capitol. Donald and Melania Trump also refused to participate in Joe Biden’s inauguration weeks later.

For Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, Jimmy Carter wrote a scathing op-ed in the New York Times in 2022, slamming the acts of a violent mob and the attempts of certain “unscrupulous politicians” to prevent the democratic transfer of power. “All four of us former presidents condemned their actions and affirmed the legitimacy of the 2020 election,” Carter wrote.

Trump appeared to hit back at Carter’s longtime disapproval of him last Saturday, when he mocked the 39th president at an event in Iowa for his 2024 presidential campaign.

In criticizing Joe Biden, Trump said that “the happiest person anywhere in this country right now is Jimmy Carter because his administration looked brilliant compared to these clowns,” USA Today reported. “Compared to Biden, Jimmy Carter was a brilliant, brilliant president.”

Trump’s dig at the 99-year-old Carter came the day after Rosalynn Carter entered hospice care and the day before she died. Jimmy Carter, the oldest living president, also is in frail health and has been in hospice care since February. Still, he hopes to attend his wife’s funeral, the Washington Post said.

The Carters’ grandson, James Carter IV, shrugged off Trump’s insult, while getting in a dig of his own at the 45th president. Writing on X Monday, Carter IV said: “I hate that my grandfather’s name is in Trump’s mouth at all, but I am not offended.”

“For a Democrat, being mocked by Trump is high praise,” Carter IV added.

I hate that my grandfather’s name is in Trump’s mouth at all, but I am not offended. For a Democrat, being mocked by Trump is high praise. https://t.co/3DkEkiyxO6

— James Carter IV (@JECarter4) November 20, 2023

After Trump insulted Carter, he and his wife still paid tribute to Rosalynn Carter upon learning of her death. Melania Trump wrote on X about Rosalynn Carter’s “meaningful legacy” and her “devotion to her husband, family, and country.” Trump issued a statement of his own on Truth Social, writing that she had “earned the admiration and gratitude” of the nation.

“From her days as a U.S. Navy spouse, to the Georgia Governor’s Mansion, to her tenure as First Lady of the United States, and her later work at the Carter Center and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, she leaves behind a legacy of extraordinary accomplishment and national service,” Trump said.

While some, including Caitlyn Jenner, praised Melania Trump for her “classy statement” about Rosalynn Carter, others criticized her for expressing “fake sympathy,” noting that Trump insulted Carter the day before. One person said that Trump did so, even after it was reported that Rosalynn Carter had entered hospice care. “You are both truly horrible people,” this person said.

It’s always newsworthy when living presidents and their wives are seen together in public. While Donald and Melania Trump skipped Biden’s inauguration, former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were there, along with Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.

All five living presidents and their wives, including then-President Trump and first lady Melania Trump, gathered in December 2018 for the funeral for George H.W. Bush at Washington National Cathedral.

But the presence of the Trumps made for some awkward moments, the New York Times reported at the time. Conversation in the presidential pew appeared to cease when the controversial couple arrived. The Obamas offered handshakes and tight-lipped smiles, but Hillary Clinton stared ahead and did not make eye contact with Trump, who defeated her in the 2016 presidential election. During that bitter election, Trump called Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” at one of their presidential debates. And, as Melania Trump stood by, he also sought to intimidate her by inviting women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual abuse to sit in the audience at another of their debates.

For the funeral of Barbara Bush in April 2018, Trump stayed away, saying he didn’t want his presence at the service in Houston to create “disruptions,” the New York Times reported. Barbara Bush also was critical of Trump, CNN reported, saying during his 2016 campaign: “He sort of makes faces and says insulting things. He’s said terrible things about women, terrible things about the military. I don’t understand why people are for him, for that reason.”

Melania Trump, however, attended Barbara Bush’s service, sitting in the front pew with the Obamas and the Clintons and helping to create imagery that “was impossible to ignore in this moment of bitter divisions in American political life,” the New York Times said.