Jimmy Carter's Funeral Creates Awkward Moments for Trump, Obama, Biden and Harris

President Jimmy Carter's missing out on some serious drama -- his funeral created a mini soap opera between President-elect Donald Trump, all his White House predecessors ... and his former VP Mike Pence.

You could feel the tension in the air as Trump strode into the National Cathedral Thursday morning in Washington, DC, because one of the first people he came face to face with was Pence -- ya know, the guy Trump's supporters targeted in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The former running mates kept it classy ... looking each other in the eyes, shaking hands and keeping it moving.

Seconds later, though, another breathtaking moment as DT and Melania took their seats, Barack Obama came in -- sans Michelle -- and plopped down right next to the Trumps. It looked pretty icy from the start ... no handshake or eye contact between the political opponents.

Believe it or not, it was Trump who seemed to break the ice, leaning in and whispering something to start a convo. Barry and Don even smiled and laughed at moments. Go figure!!

It was a remarkable gathering of the POTUS fraternity -- George W. and Laura Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, plus Trump, Obama and President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden ... all seated in a row.

The veeps represented, too, with Al Gore, Dan Quayle, Pence and, yes ... Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff were there, too.

BTW ... Kamala and Biden were seated in the row in front of Trump and Obama. There was zero eye contact between Kamala and Trump, or even between her and Biden ... at least at the start of the ceremony.