Melania Trump and other living first ladies pay tribute to Rosalynn Carter

United (mostly) in black, their differences lay in the details.

In any other circumstances, it would have been a shocking spectacle. But it was only fitting that when she died, Rosalynn Carter, the pioneer who turned the role of first lady into a job, did one last thing no one else could do this year: attract Melania Trump out of Mar-a-. Lago and back in the public eye. Not only that, but she created a situation where Mrs. Trump was sitting right next to Michelle Obama.

Mrs. Trump has avoided almost all major events since leaving the White House in January 2021, including her husband's numerous court appearances (the rare exception being the November 2022 announcement of his new presidential bid ). But on Tuesday, as is customary, she joined the three other living former first ladies — Mrs. Obama, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush — as well as Jill Biden, the current first lady, at the Glenn United Methodist Church Atlanta Memorial, for Mrs. Carter's Memorial Service.

“Rosalynn Carter would be so happy to have you all together that day,” said journalist Judy Woodruff .

< figure class="img-sz-medium css-mqw7kw e1g7ppur0" aria-label="media" role="group">ImageFrom left to right, former President Bill Clinton, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Obama at the religious service.Credit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

It was the first time since George H.W. Bush, in 2018, that all living first ladies were in the same place. (Ms. Trump did not attend President Biden's inauguration.) As they sat next to each other, arranged diplomatically in order of administration — Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton, with Mrs. Biden next to former President Jimmy Carter — they offered an extraordinary snapshot of what Jason Carter, Mrs. Carter's grandson, called in his remarks a "remarkable brotherhood."

Each of them, in their own way, embodied Mrs. Carter's sisterhood. directive, once proposed to Mrs. Obama, that they take ownership of the work. United (mostly) in black, their differences lay in the details.

There, for example, was Mrs. Clinton, in a designer pantsuit – this one which became his uniform. after leaving the White House, the one she navigated her way into as the first first lady to become a senator, presidential candidate and secretary of state – with a long, collarless jacket and gold earrings pearls.

Here is Mrs. Obama, in an all-black turtleneck, blazer and pants, an amalgamation of pieces from different designers (including, for the jacket, Versace). Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and left natural, a nod to the sartorial freedom she found after leaving the fishbowl of Washington and navigating the complexities of what it meant to be part of the premier nation's black family — including, as she once told Ellen DeGeneres, straightening her hair to make it more reassuring to the white electorate.

There was Mrs. Bush, in a classic, double-stranded black sheath dress. of pearls. And here is Mrs. Biden, in a simple b...