President Donald Trump and his wife Melania had.a rare public display of affection moment while heading to Pope Francis’ funeral.
As the Trumps walked alongside each other to Marine One outside the White House, the president got close to the first lady and put his left arm around her waist.
He had his arm around her as they continued all the way to the helicopter, then patted her lower back a few times before allowing her to step onto the aircraft first.
Melania, who has appeared to give her husband the cold shoulder in some of his past romantic gestures, did not resist him on Friday morning.
The first lady, who has stayed largely private and attended only a select number of events with her husband, is going with him to the Pope’s funeral at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
She last co-hosted the White House Easter Egg Roll with her husband on Monday, after being being out of the public eye for a few weeks.
On Friday, Melania wore a light khaki coat and black sunglasses, and her hair down.
The Trumps, who were among the first to confirm they would attend the Pope’s funeral on Saturday, are expected to sit in a ‘third-tier’ section. The front row seats are reserved for Catholic royals.
Melania stood next to her husband as he answered questions from reporters outside at the South Lawn of the White House.
‘So we’re leaving and going to Rome where we’ll be attending the funeral of Pope Francis,’ said the president.
‘And it’s going to be very interesting. We’re going to meet with a lot of foreign leaders.’
Asked how he and the first lady remembered the Pope, the president said: ‘Very well. Good man. He loved, he loved the world, actually. And he was just a good man. I met him twice, I thought he was a fantastic kind of guy.’
