WASHINGTON — Former President George W. Bush’s casual greeting of former President Barack Obama at Jimmy Carter’s state funeral is going viral online. 

Obama was seated next to President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, ahead of the service Thursday at Washington National Cathedral in the nation’s capital. 

When Bush and his wife, Laura, headed toward their seats, Obama stood up and George W. Bush affectionately greeted him with a belly tap. 

And before anyone tries to claim the social media clips were edited — or created using artificial intelligence — C-SPAN’s cameras caught the moment as it happened. 

The belly tap is remarkable pic.twitter.com/bxj3wEETh2

— Reese Gorman (@reesejgorman) January 9, 2025

Neither George W. Bush or Laura Bush seemed to greet the Trumps on their way in. The couple did turn around to greet the couples seated behind them including former Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen, and former Vice President Al Gore.

However, as he left the funeral service, former President Bush leaned over and briefly interacted with Trump, shaking hands, according to the Associated Press. 

Obama and Trump, political rivals who have mocked each other for years, sat next to each other for the service and were seen talking for several minutes, even sharing a laugh.

Except for Michelle Obama, all of the living former presidents and their spouses were at the funeral, sitting a row behind President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses.

Michelle Obama’s office confirmed she did not attend the funeral but did not say where she was or why she was absent.