Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden found themselves seated next to each other on Thursday at the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney, marking their first public appearance together since Harris released her tell-all campaign memoir, “107 Days.” The reunion, captured by cameras, showed Dr. Biden with a tight-lipped expression as Harris exchanged greetings with former President Joe Biden, who coincidentally celebrated his 83rd birthday that day. Their brief interaction was interrupted by the arrival of former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, as they entered the Washington National Cathedral, where Bush was set to deliver a eulogy. Later, President Biden was seen engaging in a light-hearted conversation with the Bushes.

In her memoir, released this past September, Harris does not shy away from openly criticizing the Bidens, offering detailed accounts of personal interactions with the former first couple. One notable episode she describes involves Dr. Biden confronting Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff during the White House’s 2024 Fourth of July celebration, shortly after President Biden’s challenging debate with Donald Trump. Harris claims that Dr. Biden emphatically asked Emhoff, “Are you supporting us?”—a question that reportedly infuriated Harris’s husband.

Harris shares a quote from Emhoff in the book, expressing his frustration: “They hide you away for four years, give you impossible, thankless jobs, fail to correct misinformation about those roles, never defend you when attacked, never acknowledge your achievements, and now, when they need you to stand with them on that balcony, they suddenly recognize your value. Yet, they still question our loyalty.” Notably, Emhoff did not attend the funeral, sidestepping the potentially uncomfortable encounter.

Protocol dictates the seating arrangements, with the Bushes, Bidens and then Harris- who was attending without Emhoff – seated front row. On Harris’ other side sat former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen. Trump replaced Pence on the 2024 ticket after Pence wouldn’t go along with Trump’s attempt in 2020 to overturn the election. Harris greeted Karen Pence with a hug and appeared to have a warm conversation with Mike Pence before he sat down in the pew.

 She was also captured chatting animatedly with other former VPs, Dan Quayle and Al Gore. Cheney’s funeral brought out a bipartisan collection of Washingtonians as the late vice president crossed the aisle a year before his death by backing Harris’ bid for the White House. The former vice president was following the lead of his daughter, former GOP Representative Liz Cheney, who saw her political career tanked by Trump over her leadership in the House committee on January 6.

Cheney said in his endorsement ‘there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.’ ‘He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him,’ Cheney said in a statement in September 2024. ‘He can never be trusted with power again.’ Trump, in turn, had been critical of Bush 43 and Cheney’s tenure for years, blasting them for embroiling the U.S. in ‘forever wars’ like Afghanistan and Iraq.

In a final snub, the Cheney family did not invite Trump and Vice President JD Vance to Thursday’s memorial service. Former House Speakers Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner were on hand, as was Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Mitch McConnell, possible 2028 Democratic hopeful Representative Jamie Raskin, Dr. Anthony Fauci and MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow.

All living former vice presidents showed up, as is tradition. It’s less expected that former presidents show up to vice presidential funerals, which explains why the Obamas and Clintons were absent – as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton never served as vice president – but Biden was on hand, as he served in the role before being elected president in 2020.