Joe Biden Pays Tribute To Jimmy Carter As Example Of “Simple Decency”
The military honor guards, a procession down Pennsylvania Avenue and a service in the Capitol Rotunda continued public commemorations for Carter, who died Dec. 29 at age 100. Services will continue through his state funeral Thursday at the National Cathedral, before Carter returns to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, for burial beside his late wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023. Clinton’s 1992 White House victory marked the first time a Democrat won a presidential election since Carter in 1976. According to Clinton’s presidential library, Clinton at the time said he and Carter were, “as different as daylight and dark.” “Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image,” added Obama, who served as president from January of 2009 until January of 2017. In 1974, not even five months after Richard Nixon resigned the presidency, Carter entered the race for the Democratic nomination as a virtual unknown. Carter used his political anonymity to his advantage, running as an outsider who could bring to Washington the integrity needed in the aftermath of Watergate. In Hollywood, Carter became a celebrity in his own right, forging ties with Lew Wasserman for fundraising efforts. Throughout his tenure, Carter’s energy policy was prescient, decades before climate change became a national priority. It was an ultimate Washington insider sendoff for a public servant known throughout his career as a political outsider. All five living presidents attended the funeral, including President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in less than two weeks. Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama said in a statement, “Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth. He believed some things were more important than reelection — things like integrity, respect, and compassion. Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image. Bush, the nation’s 43rd president, said Carter “was a man of deeply held convictions” and offered his condolences to the Carter family. Obama, the nation’s 44th president, praised Carter’s “decency” while leading the country and after he left the White House. Carter was the longest living former commander-in-chief in U.S. history, and his relationships with several of his successors put him in a unique position as a role model for post-presidency life. The condolences came from Donald Trump, the former and future president who is set to be sworn back into the White House next month, as well as Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who praised Carter for working “tirelessly for a better, fairer world.” Some members of the public could be seen braving the wintry weather in Washington to pay their respects to the president along the route. Members of Congress, the Supreme Court and other dignitaries paid their respects to the late President Jimmy Carter during a ceremony at the U.S. In an earlier statement, Biden said that he will be ordering an official state funeral for the former president, but that details were still being arranged with Carter’s family. Tributes pour in after death of Ex-President Jimmy Carter: ‘Humble and devoted public servant’ She detailed his efforts to broker peace between Israel and Egypt, the creation of the Departments of Education and Energy and his efforts to put people of color on the federal bench. Former Vice President Al Gore said Sunday that Carter’s legacy is marked Jimmy Carter Tribute not just by his elected service but also “his leadership over the 42 years after he left office. At 100, Carter — who was born on Oct. 1, 1924 — lived longer than any other U.S. president and had the longest post-presidency. The Carter Center said there would be public observances in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., as well as a private interment in Plains, Ga. President Biden was set to deliver remarks about the late president’s death Sunday evening on CNN. Jimmy Carter honored with Washington funeral before burial in his Georgia hometown In a second post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said he “strongly disagreed” with Carter philosophically and politically, but that he “truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for.” Carter later said Trump ascended to the presidency due to Russian interference, and Trump responded by calling Carter a “nice man” but a “terrible president.” Members of the Carter family walked behind the horse-drawn cassion as it proceeded to the U.S. “He also passed over a dozen major pieces of legislation regarding environmental protection and more than doubled the size of America’s national parks, including protecting our beloved Redwoods in my home state of California,” she said. Traditionally, during such ceremonies, the former president lies in state at the Capitol Rotunda, followed by a funeral at Washington National Cathedral. “We came up with a sentence which remains an important summary of our work. We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace.” Services will continue through his state funeral Thursday at the National Cathedral, before Carter returns to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, for burial beside his late wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023. He was remembered for the role he played in a post-Watergate world and for leaving one of the most consequential post-presidency legacies in history. He also detailed Carter’s foreign policy record, referencing his leadership on the Camp David Accords and his work easing relations with Panama by relinquishing control of the Canal Zone. The Carter Center and the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum are unable to do searches for individual requests for photos and video at this time, but high-resolution photos, videos, and b-roll of former U.S. Newswire A reporter asked the president what inspired him about the 39th president, whose post-presidential humanitarian work helped earn him the Nobel Peace Prize. Condolences poured in from around the globe Sunday as word spread of the death of former President Jimmy Carter in his hometown in Georgia at the age of
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