Trump was not invited to the funeral, which was held at London’s Westminster Abbey on Monday. Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived at the funeral a little later than expected after being stuck in traffic on their way to the venue. They arrived in the heavily armored vehicle known as “The Beast” after being granted a special exemption. Most world leaders were banned from using private vehicles and instead had to take a bus to the funeral. The president and first lady arrived at the funeral about 12 minutes after other foreign dignitaries were seated and were given seats in the 14th row as a result, according to Time magazine. The Bidens were seated next to the president of Switzerland and between the president of Poland and the prime minister of the Czech Republic. However, Trump insisted that Biden’s position at the funeral was a result of the UK having less “respect” for the US because of his presidency. While making his first public comments about the funeral in a post on Truth Social on Monday, the former president maintained that if he were in power, he would never have sat “there.” He also said that Biden had positioned himself next to the leaders of Third World countries. Former President Donald Trump, left, during a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on September 17, 2022. President Joe Biden, right, sits at the state funeral for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in London, England, on September 19, 2022. Trump insisted on Monday that he would have been given a better seat than Biden at the royal funeral. Left: Jeff Swensen, Right: GARETH FULLER/POOL/AFP/Getty Images “This happened to America in just two years,” Trump wrote next to a photo of Biden sitting down. “No disrespect! However, it’s a good time for our President to meet the leaders of some Third World countries. If I were president, they wouldn’t have me sitting back there — and our country would be a lot different than it is right now !” “In Real Estate, as in Politics and Life, LOCATION IS EVERYTHING!!!” added in a later post. A viral video that has been viewed more than 3 million times highlights the preferential treatment the Bidens may have received by being allowed to travel to the event in a private vehicle, despite their lack of prime seats. The video shows the president’s large motorcade arriving at Westminster Abbey, contrasting with images of several buses carrying other world leaders to the funeral. Although Trump was not invited to attend Monday’s funeral, he was invited to a separate memorial service in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, along with living former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. None of the former presidents had confirmed their attendance by Monday afternoon. Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.
