Former President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump were caught on camera having an intense but amicable conversation ahead of former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, Thursday morning, prompting social media users to call for an professional lipreader to decipher what was said.
As luck would have it, the New York Post was on the case, enlisting the help of forensic lipreader Jeremy Freeman, a University College London-certified expert witness for litigants.
According to Freeman’s translation, Trump, 78, told Obama, 63, that they would have to “find a quiet place” later in the day to discuss a “matter of importance.”
It would appear as though Trump was hoping to have a conversation about an unspecified international agreement outside the reach of probing cameras.
Trump at one point leaned toward Obama and said, “I’ve pulled out of that. It’s the conditions. Can you imagine that?” prompting a chuckle from Obama.
Trump added, “and after, I will.”
Later in the exchange, Trump said: “Call me at the foy after—yep.” The Post surmised that Trump was “possibly referring to the National Cathedral’s foyer.”
Obama replied: “can you just … it should be good.”
Trump then suggested finding a quiet place to continue the discussion.
“I can’t talk, we have to find a quiet place sometime. This is a matter of importance and we need to do this outside so that we can deal with it, certainly, today,” Trump said, as Obama nodded.
During Trump’s first term, the U.S. withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear deal, and the Paris Climate Agreement, the Post noted, although it’s unclear what exactly was being discussed.
Trump and Obama have publicly had tense relations for years — with Trump accusing Obama of ordering the feds to “spy” on his 2016 campaign over alleged ties to Russia. He habitually refers to Obama by his full legal name, often emphasizing the middle name, Hussein.
Obama, meanwhile, stunned viewers by appearing to make a lewd joke about his successor’s manhood by mocking his “weird obsession with crowd sizes” while holding his hands about four inches apart at the Democratic convention in August.
Obama also mocked Trump in October for delivering lengthy speeches “like Fidel Castro — just on and on” and his “constant attempts to sell you stuff,” such as golden sneakers and Trump Bibles.
Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, sat on the other side of Obama and incoming first lady Melania Trump was seated next to her husband.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were on the other side of the Bushes. Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff sat in front of the group.
At one point, Harris turned around and stared at 44 and 47 as they talked.
Other notables attending the the funeral service at Washington National Cathedral in DC. included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who just announced his resignation Monday; former Vice President Al Gore; and newly-pardoned first son Hunter Biden.
CNN reported that Michelle Obama couldn’t make it to the funeral of the 39th president because she had a “scheduling conflict” and was “still actually in Hawaii on an extended holiday vacation.”
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