The nation remembered Thursday the Georgia peanut farmer who rose to the heights of power and used that power to fight for justice, eradicate disease and achieve peace, with a grand state funeral for a nobody. – Said farewell to former President Carter. It’s not a war.
The five living presidents and a wide range of other leaders gathered at the Washington National Cathedral to pay their respects to the 39th president. He paid tribute not only to his four years in the nation’s highest office, but also to his 40 years of tireless humanitarian work around the world. After he left the White House.
In his eulogy, delivered just 11 days before he himself leaves office, President Biden said, “Throughout his life, he was a man of good deeds, a man of good deeds, of what it means to be a good and faithful servant of God and his people.” He showed us that.” -Term Democratic Party. “Many today think of him as a man of a bygone era. But in reality, he looked well into the future.”
The former president’s grandson Jason Carter, on behalf of his family, stores fishing trophies, hangs used Ziploc bags to dry and greets visitors wearing 1970s-style “shorts” and Crocs. He told us about a humble man he called Pawpaw who was playing with his newly acquired shoes. mobile phone. However, he emphasized the former president’s undying love for his fellow countrymen and his determined efforts to change the world for the better during his 100 years of life.
“Essentially, he eradicated disease with love and respect,” said Jason Carter, president of the Carter Center. “He built peace with love and respect. He led this country with love and respect. For me, this life was a love story from the moment he woke up until he laid his head down. .”
For Mr. Carter, the service, held in a cavernous cathedral on a bitterly cold day in Washington, represented the pinnacle of American glory. His coffin will then be taken to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington for a flight home to Georgia, where he will be buried later that day outside the modest ranch home where he lived most of his life.
Mr. Carter, who died last week at the age of 100, lived longer than any president in history to ensure that his legacy transformed from that of a failed president to one of faith, virtue and patriotism that recognizes accomplishments as well as setbacks. lived long enough to see. .
Carter was elected in 1976 on a promise to heal the country from the trauma of Watergate and the Vietnam War, but his presidency was severely damaged by runaway inflation, oil shortages, and the Iran hostage crisis. It turned out that Although his administration is poorly remembered by today’s young Americans, his personal integrity and dedication to a cause greater than himself has been passed down as an example to subsequent generations.
In addition to Mr. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, President-elect Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and former Presidents Bill Clinton also attended. Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton also attended, but Michelle Obama, who has expressed personal distaste for Trump, did not attend due to scheduling conflicts. Vice President Kamala Harris and several former vice presidents also attended.
It will be the first time the five surviving presidents have gathered together in the same location since Trump defeated Harris in November to win a second term. None of the other presidents liked Trump, and much attention was focused on his body language and who shook his hand. Neither Biden nor Harris appeared to interact with Biden, but Obama, who was sitting next to him, had a heartfelt chat before the service began.
It was also the first time in four years that Trump was in the same location as Vice President Mike Pence, who is estranged. The two shook hands briefly and politely, but other than that, they didn’t seem to say much to each other.
Mr. Pence challenged Mr. Trump for the Republican nomination last year and, after losing, refused to support a former vice presidential candidate who tried to violate the Constitution by pressuring him to overturn the 2020 election that he lost to Mr. Biden. . And Mr. Harris.
Mr. Trump replaced Mr. Pence with U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who was present during the service with the Congressional delegation because he will remain in office until the inauguration on January 20. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and the new Republican leader, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, both attended, but attendance from other Republicans was relatively sparse.
The memorial includes eulogies from former President Gerald R. Ford and former Vice President Walter F. Mondale, written during their lifetimes and read on their behalf by their sons Stephen Ford and Ted Mondale. It is. Mr. Carter defeated Mr. Ford in the 1976 election, but they became friends, and Mr. Mondale was Mr. Carter’s inner circle partner for four years in the White House.
“For myself, Jimmy, I look forward to seeing you again,” Mr. Ford said in his eulogy. “We have a lot to catch up on. Thank you, Mr. President. Welcome home, old friend.”
Still, despite the obvious contrast to today’s politics, the speakers tried to avoid delving too deeply into commentary on contemporary affairs. Mr. Mondale’s son changed the text he previously shared with the New York Times to remove references to the nation “today dealing tragically with an immigration crisis.”
Stuart E. Eisenstat, a longtime friend of Mr. Carter’s and a former White House domestic policy adviser, disputed the idea that Mr. Carter was a failed but successful former president. He cited numerous policy successes on the environment, civil rights, international relations, and other issues.
“As we lay our 39th president to rest, now is the time to reclaim his presidency and debunk the myth that his greatest accomplishments came only as a former president,” he said. “The test of an American president is the duration of his accomplishments, not his years in office. By this standard, Jimmy Carter was one of the most influential one-term presidents in American history.”
But it was Mr. Carter’s personal story that evoked such force. The Rev. Andrew Young, a civil rights leader who served as an ambassador to the United Nations, expressed his continued astonishment at how the former president rose from the soil of Georgia to the White House.
“It was kind of a miracle, and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way, but I still don’t understand how you went from Plains, Georgia, to becoming president,” Young, 92, said from his chair. Ta. The Chairman said this during his sermon.
Carter’s casket will be flown to Georgia and then taken to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where he taught Sunday school in the 1990s, for a final private service. The convoy carrying the coffin will make its final journey through the Plains to Carter’s home. Navy jets will fly over in missing persons formation, after which Carter will be buried in the family plot next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died in late 2023.
