President-elect Donald Trump stated the death of former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at the age of 100.
“I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter. Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” the president-elect began.
“The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude,” he continued.
“Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.”
He also wrote in a separate Truth Social post: “President Jimmy Carter is dead at 100 years of age. While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for. He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect. He was a truly good man and, of course, will be greatly missed. He was also very consequential, far more than most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office. Warmest condolences from Melania and I to his wonderful family!”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden couldn’t pass up an opportunity to further divide the country on his way out the door, using Carter’s death to criticize his replacement, Fox News reported
Speaking with a hoarse voice during his remarks, Biden said he “lost a dear friend” on Sunday, noting his more than 50-year friendship with Jimmy Carter. Carter passed away at the age of 100 in Plains, Georgia, following nearly two years in hospice care.
During his remarks, Biden said Carter was a model “of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, a life of principle, faith and humility.”
“Some look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era with honesty and character. Faith and humility mattered, but I don’t believe it’s a bygone era,” Biden said. “We’d all do well to try to be more like Jimmy Carter.”
At that, a reporter had the temerity to ask Biden what Trump should take from Carter’s legacy, and Biden replied, “Decency.”
“Decency, decency, decency. … Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking by someone who needed something and just keep walking? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk?” Biden — who recently lied about pardoning his son Hunter and who has been accused of multiple instances of political graft over the course of his political career — responded.
Biden also claimed that Carter asked him to help with the 39th president’s initial campaign in 1976.
“He grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘I need you to help with my campaign,'” Biden recalled. “I said, ‘I’ve only been around a couple of years, Mr. Governor.’ He said, ‘No, it’ll make a difference.'”
“I said, ‘I’m not sure it will,” Biden added. “When I endorsed him for president, I told him why [I] was endorsing him and that it was not only his policies but his character, his decency, the honor he communicated to everyone.”
Carter narrowly defeated President Gerald R. Ford, who became vice president to then-President Richard Nixon after Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
Ford, then the House minority leader, was appointed to the vice presidency via the 25th Amendment; he assumed the presidency in 1974 after Nixon resigned.
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