Mrs Obama’s convention speech, which saw her abandon the Obama mantra “when they go low, we go high,” was interpreted as a major victory for Ms Harris’s presidential campaign. In the room, the reception from the crowd was even greater than for her husband.

Michelle Obama was the only spouse absent at the funeral service at Washington National Cathedral, where her husband and Trump were seated next to each other and chatted and laughed like old friends despite the history of political animosity between the Democratic former president and the returning Republican.