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.
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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 100 — with all the remaining living US presidents offering personal tributes. Standing outside the Capitol, Prolman, who now lives in D.C., held up her handwritten ‘Carter for President’ poster that she made nearly 50 years ago.
“He may not be a candidate for Mount Rushmore, but he belongs in its foothills, making the U.S. stronger and the world safer.” He defended Carter’s domestic policy efforts, particularly around the environment and curbing inflation. 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 son of former Vice President Walter Mondale, Ted Mondale, also read a eulogy written by the late vice president.
Virgin Islands, where Biden is on vacation, the president also recalled the support that Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, gave to him after his son, Beau, died of cancer. The 39th president, a former peanut farmer, remained active in civic duties until he was sidelined by ill health in recent years, including his work for Habitat for Humanity. Susan Prolman was just 11 years old when Carter ran for president, but she recalled fondly how he stayed in her family’s home in New Hampshire during the 1976 primary. Mondale emphasized the late president’s record and highlighted his work addressing climate change, gender discrimination and income inequality. “As President, he protected our air and water, promoted transparency in government, and brokered an historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel at Camp David.
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“He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country,” Bush said in a statement. “President Carter dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency. His work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations. All four living former American presidents paid tribute on Sunday to the life and legacy of Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday at age 100. “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us,” Biden said. “In doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service,” Obama said.
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- “And I think it’s bubbled up to the surface because of the belief among many white people, not just in the south but around the country, that African Americans are not qualified to lead this great country,” Carter said in 2009.
- “He believed some things were more important than reelection – things like integrity, respect, and compassion.
- You can also learn more about his life (including a timeline), his legacy as a humanitarian and statesman, as well as how he contributed to public health, plus how funerals of former presidents are planned.
- Some members of the public could be seen braving the wintry weather in Washington to pay their respects to the president along the route.
On Carter’s 100th birthday in October, Trump took aim at his predecessor’s time in office, as well as President Joe Biden. Trump said Biden had replaced Carter as the worst president in American history. Trump said Carter tried to “improve the lives of all Americans” when he was president despite the challenges he faced. Carter’s remains will return to Georgia Thursday afternoon for a private service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where he taught Sunday School well into his 90s, before he’s buried at the family home next to his wife, Rosalynn Carter. Thursday, when Carter’s remains will travel from the Capitol to Washington National Cathedral for his National Funeral Service. “President Carter’s life, his selfless service, his fight against cancer and his lasting contributions to his fellow man are all truly remarkable, whether he was in the White House or in his post presidential years,” Johnson said.
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Carter’s remains were lying in repose at the Carter Presidential Center ahead of three days of state funeral rites in D.C. Vice President Harris, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered eulogies that emphasized Carter’s values of service and citizenship. “No one can deny that President Carter led an extraordinary life of service to his country,” he said. President Joe Biden also reacted to Carter’s death, calling him “an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” in a statement released by the White House. “I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter,” President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday. Biden’s eulogy on Thursday echoed some of his initial remarks in the immediate aftermath of Carter’s death at the end of the year.
Under those words were small hand-drawn peanuts, a nod to his time as a peanut farmer. “What I find extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people all around the world, all over the world, feel they lost a friend, as well, even though they never met him,” Biden said. “That’s because Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words but by his deeds.” “In the end, Jimmy Carter taught us how to live a life filled with faith and service,” he said.
Special Air Mission 39 departed Dobbins Air Reserve Base north of Atlanta and arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before Carter was brought to Washington. The former president was to lie in state Tuesday night and again Wednesday before his remains are moved to National Cathedral. Thune, the newly elected majority leader, ticked through Carter’s legacy beyond the White House, including his hands-on contributions to rebuilding homes through Habitat For Humanity. “First and foremost a faithful servant of his creator, and his fellow man,” said Thune, a South Dakota Republican.
Jimmy Carter remembered by colleagues, family and friends as a devoted public servant
“He seriously was a public servant. He gave all he had to this country. And that’s why I respect him so much.” The public was also able to pay tribute to the former president at the Capitol. While waiting in line outside, Carter’s supporters praised his long career in public life.