Jimmy Carter remembered by colleagues, family and friends as a devoted public servant
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Political leaders in Washington are honoring the life of former President Jimmy Carter with a funeral service at the National Cathedral this morning.
It's the ultimate Washington insider sendoff for a public servant known throughout his career as a political outsider. Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at 100, was the nation's longest-living president.
President Biden — a longtime friend and colleague of the 39th president — addressed the cathedral in a eulogy for Carter. He celebrated Carter's character and their friendship of nearly 50 years. At the same time, Biden cast a forward-looking message.
"Today, many think he was from a bygone era," Biden said. "But in reality, he saw well into the future."
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The funeral at the National Cathedral is part of a national day of mourning, which Biden declared in Carter's honor after his death. Members of Carter's family and his former colleagues delivered emotional and heartfelt remarks, painting a fulsome image of Carter as both a powerful politician and a thoughtful and giving individual.
All four living former presidents attended the funeral, including President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in less than two weeks.
Thursday's event marks the final public tribute to Carter, following additional funeral services and ceremonies since Saturday at the U.S. Capitol, the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta and his hometown of Plains, Ga. Following his national funeral service, the late president's remains will be transported back to Georgia for a private ceremony and burial in Plains.
In addition to Biden's eulogy, Carter's grandsons, Josh and Jason Carter, delivered personal and passionate family tributes.
Jason Carter highlighted his grandfather's 77-year marriage to former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
"Rest assured that in these last weeks, he told us that he was ready to see her again," Jason Carter said. "But his life was also a broader love story about love for his fellow humans and about living out the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself."
Notably, the son of former President Gerald Ford, Steve Ford, delivered a posthumous eulogy to the 39th president written by his father — a striking nod to Carter's longevity, given he outlived Ford by nearly 18 years.
"It's a long way between Grand Rapids, Mich., and Plains, Ga., but distances have a way of vanishing when measured in values rather than miles," Ford said. "It was because of our shared values that Jimmy and I respected each other as adversaries even before we cherished one another as dear friends."
The son of former Vice President Walter Mondale, Ted Mondale, also read a eulogy written by the late vice president. Mondale, who served as Carter's vice president, died in the spring of 2021.
Mondale emphasized the late president's record and highlighted his work addressing climate change, gender discrimination and income inequality.
"Towards the end of our time in the White House, the president and I were talking about how we might describe what we tried to accomplish in office," Mondale said. "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."
"That we did, Mr. President," he added. "I will always be proud and grateful to have had the chance to work with you towards noble ends."
Carter's former aide, Stu Eizenstat, passionately ticked through Carter's presidential record.
"It is time to redeem his presidency and also lay to rest the myth that his greatest achievements came only as a former president," Eizenstat said, characterizing him as, "the most consequential one-term presidents in American history."
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.
Eizenstat also offered a personal tribute to Carter — a devout Southern Baptist — and his ability to uplift other religions, sharing he came to Eizenstat's house for a Passover Seder and was the first president to light a Hanukkah menorah. He also created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
"In the end, Jimmy Carter taught us how to live a life filled with faith and service," he said. "He may not be a candidate for Mount Rushmore, but he belongs in its foothills, making the U.S. stronger and the world safer."
Country stars Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood are also set to sing "Imagine" by John Lennon — known as Carter's favorite song.
Just after Carter died, Biden called him a 'dear friend'
In remarks after Carter's death, Biden called the late president a "dear friend" and praised his character, highlighting Carter's record as president and his more than four decades of humanitarian work after leaving the White House.
"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."
Trump recently criticized Carter's presidential record during a news conference, arguing that the late former president lost his 1980 reelection bid due to his decision to relinquish control of the Canal Zone in Panama.
"Nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal now because, you know, it's inappropriate, I guess," Trump said. "Because it's a bad part of the Carter legacy."
"He was a good man. I knew him a little bit, and he was a very fine person, but that was a big mistake," Trump added. On Wednesday evening, the president-elect and his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, paid their respects to Carter, who was lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda this week. Trump later told reporters he met with members of the Carter family earlier in the day.
The public was also able to pay tribute to the former president at the Capitol. While waiting in line outside the Capitol, Carter's supporters praised his long career in public life.
Mark Wentzell of Minneapolis, Minn., who traveled to the memorial with his daughter, told NPR that Carter was "a real role model for everyone."
"He was so sincere in everything he did," he said.
"I view him as a really good man, high moral values" Washington, D.C., resident Bruce Meredith said as he got in line. "He seriously was a public servant. He gave all he had to this country. And that's why I respect him so much."
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.
"Instead of staying at hotels, they stayed at people's houses," she said. "It was very exciting."
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. Under those words were small hand-drawn peanuts, a nod to his time as a peanut farmer.
"He was a truly kind man," she said. "He brought so much to this country."
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