The former president and once-again-future president, who are historically something less than besties, chatted it up before the service began. (Michelle Obama was not in attendance.)

Trump is obviously no fan of Biden, but Obama and his veep also have a famously complex relationship, only made more so after Obama helped nudge Biden to quit the presidential race last summer. Surely Obama feels some frustration that Biden fumbled a possibly winnable race; maybe he couldn’t help spill to his sworn enemy?

Three days after the Jan. 6 anniversary, with its indelible images of costumed rioters running amok in the Capitol, former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service in the National Cathedral presented a historical picture of a different kind, one that spoke not of upended norms, but of preservation and strength.