Not long ago, Donald Trump and Barack Obama were spotted having a lengthy conversation. But no one knew what they were talking about.
And details of Trump and Obama’s secret conversation have finally been revealed in this latest bombshell report.
In a moment that captured global attention, President-elect Donald Trump extended an unexpected invitation to former President Barack Obama for a round of golf during the somber occasion of former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral on January 9, 2025. The exchange, detailed in the new book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, occurred inside the Washington National Cathedral, where the two political rivals shared a lighthearted interaction that sparked widespread curiosity.
According to the book, penned by political journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf—veterans of the Washington Post’s 2024 campaign coverage—Trump, seated next to Obama, described the allure of his 17 golf courses worldwide, inviting his predecessor to join him on the fairways.
“He sat next to Barack Obama and invited him to play golf, enticing him with descriptions of Trump’s courses around the world,” the authors write, as reported by Axios. While it remains unclear whether Obama accepted the offer, the moment stood out as a rare instance of warmth between the two.
Photographs from the funeral captured Trump and Obama grinning and laughing before the service began, a stark contrast to their historically tense relationship. It’s suggested their jovial expressions may have masked a weightier discussion.
During on instance, Trump leaned toward Obama, saying they needed to “find a quiet place” later to discuss a “matter of importance,” according to what forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman said to the New York Post.
Trump added, “I’ve pulled out of that. It’s the conditions. Can you imagine that?”—possibly alluding to his first-term decisions to withdraw from Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal or the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement, though the exact topic remains speculative.
“Call me at the foy after, yep,” Trump continued, likely referring to the cathedral’s foyer. Obama responded, “Can you just … it should be good,” nodding as Trump reiterated, “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.” The exchange hinted at a private conversation planned away from the public eye.
Reflecting on the interaction, Trump later told NBC News from his Mar-a-Lago estate, I “didn’t realize how friendly” Obama was.
“I said, ‘Boy, they look like two people that like each other.’ And we probably do,” he added, suggesting a mutual respect despite their political differences.
The seating arrangement—Trump beside Obama in the cathedral’s second row—came about because former first lady Michelle Obama was absent, citing “scheduling conflicts” while in Hawaii. Michelle, 61, also opted not to attend Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, later explaining on her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, that her absence was partly due to not having “anything to wear.”
She elaborated, “I mean, I had affirmatively, ’cause I’m always prepared for any funeral, anything. I walk around with the right dress, I travel with clothes just in case something pops off.”
“So I was like, ‘If I’m not going to do this thing, I got to tell my team,’ I don’t even want to have a dress ready, right? Because it’s so easy to just say, ‘Let me do the right thing.’”
Barack Obama, attending the inauguration alone, has not shied away from critiquing Trump’s policies. In a June 30 video address to departing USAID employees, he called Trump’s decision to shutter the United States Agency for International Development a “travesty” and a “tragedy,” emphasizing its vital global role.
“Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy,” he said. “Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world.”
The book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America frames this encounter against the backdrop of Trump’s 2024 campaign triumph over President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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