Obama and Trump were filmed enjoying some light-hearted conversation during the service… or were they?
After Donald Trump was spotted laughing and chatting with political
‘enemy’ Barack Obama at Jimmy Carter’s funeral this week, he has confirmed all wasn’t as it seems.
Spectators of late politician Jimmy Carter’s funeral on 9 January were
surprised to see 44th US president Obama and incoming White House resident
Trump sitting side by side and enjoying some seemingly lighthearted conversation. Take a look:
In spite of their vastly opposing views and values, the Republican leader
and former Democratic representative were photographed laughing closely
to one another, with some viewers wondering what the pair could possibly have been discussing.
Jeremy Freeman – a UK-born forensic lip-reader – has since analysed the
live television footage, and though he can’t be certain what they were
talking about, he believes he’s at least determined the nature of the discussion.
Sharing with the New York Post, Freeman began by noting the pair were likely
discussing international agreements, explaining that at one point, it looks
as though Trump leans towards Obama and tells him: “I’ve pulled out of that. It’s the conditions. Can you imagine that?”.
Though neither have been confirmed, this may be a possible reference to Obama’s
Iran nuclear deal that Trump famously withdrew from, or the 2016 Paris
Climate Agreement the 45th president rejected during his first term.
Freeman says Obama then laughs, as Trump is seen telling him: “And after, I will.”
The pair were seen laughing together (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump then apparently tells Obama, ‘Call me at the foy after, yep’, a potential
reference to the foyer of the National Cathedral, where the service was held,
with Freeman believing the latter replies something like, ‘Can you just…’, and ‘It should be good’.
“I can’t talk, we have to find a quiet place sometime,” Trump is said to
have then replied. “This is a matter of importance and we need to
do this outside so that we can deal with it, certainly, today.”
Obama then nods, before telling his fellow politician, ‘Listen to me,
it’s a chore, a chore’ – context of which Freeman can’t quite determine.
“Yeah, right. I can’t think of anything that’s a chore,” Trump supposedly says back.
Trump has since spoken out, after footage of the interaction went viral
online, claiming he had no idea it would stir up such a response.
“I didn’t realise how friendly it looked,” he confessed when subsequently
asked by press. “I said, ‘boy, they look like two people that like each other’.
“And we probably do.”
Discussing their political opposition, Trump went on to tell reporters: “We have a little different philosophies, right? But we probably do.
“I don’t know. We just got along.”
He then jibed: “But I got along with just about everybody.”
Trump has now discussed the interaction (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The two have famously never seen eye-to-eye, with Trump previously accusing Obama of having ordered FBI officers to ‘spy’ on his campaign during his initial term in office.
In return, Obama has frequently teased Trump since he left the White House – an example being discussing his ‘weird obsession with crowd sizes’ holding his hands around four inches apart, seemingly poking fun at his manhood.
And back in October, he teased Trump’s lengthy speeches, describing him as ‘like Fidel Castro – just on and on’.
Obama is yet to speak about the interaction.
