Which ex-presidents met with Trump after his presidency and what did they say?
Executive summary
Several living former U.S. presidents have had public encounters with Donald Trump since he left office and after he returned to the White House; notable in-person meetings reported in the sources include a collective attendance at Jimmy Carter’s state funeral and a White House handoff meeting between outgoing President Joe Biden and incoming President Trump (January 2025) [1] [2]. Reporting shows mixed tones: some ex-presidents have stayed publicly quiet or followed tradition of restraint (George W. Bush often avoids intervening), while others have sharply criticized Trump from afar — Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden issued public rebukes in 2025 even as they largely did not meet him privately in the press record [3] [4] [5].
1. Which ex‑presidents physically appeared with Trump: a rare reunion at a funeral and an inauguration handoff
All five living presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden — attended the state funeral of Jimmy Carter in late 2024/early 2025, producing a rare in‑person reunion that included Trump [1]. Separately, Biden invited Trump to the White House for the formal pre‑inauguration meeting customary between outgoing and incoming presidents; accounts describe the meeting as awkward but not combative and note that it was technically unusual because Trump had not offered a similar meeting to Biden in 2021 [2].
2. What ex‑presidents said when they did speak — public criticism, restraint and different strategies
Three former presidents — Obama, Biden and Clinton — publicly criticized elements of Trump’s second‑term agenda in spring 2025, delivering forceful rebukes on tariffs, social programs and norms that critics said threatened democratic institutions [4] [5]. At the same time, coverage in The Hill and The Guardian emphasized that many ex‑presidents largely refrained from constant public attacks in the opening weeks of the new administration, prompting complaints from some Democrats who wanted louder condemnations [3] [6].
3. George W. Bush’s posture: quiet restraint, not public denunciation
Multiple outlets note that George W. Bush has historically avoided stepping on a sitting president and has remained relatively silent about Trump’s actions — a posture described as “out of respect to the office” by a former Bush aide and repeated in reporting urging ex‑presidents to speak out [3] [5]. Sources frame Bush’s reticence as consistent with his long practice of staying out of active presidential politics [1] [3].
4. What the Biden‑Trump Oval Office/hand‑off comments reveal about norms and precedent
PBS and other reporting placed the Biden invitation to Trump in historical context: handoff meetings can be tense but are a bi‑partisan ritual intended to preserve continuity; Biden described eagerness for future counsel while press aides noted the meeting did not relitigate campaign differences [2]. The coverage also stressed that Trump’s prior refusal to meet Biden in 2021 marked a break with tradition, making the 2025 encounter notable [2].
5. Meetings not mentioned or unclear in available reporting
Available sources do not mention private, one‑on‑one social visits or extensive private counsel between Trump and any former president beyond the public meetings above; reporting is silent about routine, off‑the‑record conversations that may have occurred (not found in current reporting). Sources also document that former presidents sometimes combine appearances (e.g., the funeral) without detailed transcripts of private exchanges [1].
6. Competing narratives and hidden agendas to watch
Journalists point to two competing frames: one sees former presidents’ silence as prudent respect for norms; another frames that silence as a failure of moral leadership during an unusual administration — arguments advanced in opinion and advocacy pieces urging more public rebukes [3] [5]. Readers should note potential agendas: calls for ex‑presidential intervention come largely from partisan critics seeking public pressure on Trump, while defense of restraint often comes from institutionalists and some Republican allies who prioritize the sanctity of the office [3] [5].
7. Why this matters now
The choices former presidents make — to meet, to speak or to stay silent — shape public norms about accountability and the presidency. Reporting shows that while symbolic shared appearances occurred (funerals, handoff meetings), substantive private engagement between Trump and his predecessors is minimally documented in the current sources, even as three former presidents used public speeches to condemn policy and tone in 2025 [1] [2] [4].
Limitations: this summary relies solely on the supplied reporting; available sources do not provide exhaustive logs of private meetings or unreported conversations and do not confirm every encounter beyond those documented above (not found in current reporting).