Written by Sam Mackenzie
James Earl Carter Jr. or as he was known to the world, Jimmy Carter, was the 39th President of the United States of America from 1977–1981. Carter’s was an unfortunate presidency marred by many events out of his control and tough decisions he made to try and help his country, including his greatly unpopular handling of the Iranian hostage crisis where he refused to bomb Iran. Carter would be roundly defeated in the 1980 election by Ronald Reagan, making Carter one of the few one term presidents in American History.
One word characterised both Jimmy Carter’s time in and out of the White House: Decency.
Carter came to the White House after the upheaval of the Watergate Scandal under Richard Nixon and the subsequent pardoning of Nixon under Gerald Ford. Carter ran on a platform of strong Southern values. A family man and a veteran, Jimmy Carter had the kind of background many politicians dream of.
Jimmy Carter solidified himself as ‘The Decent Man in the White House’ with his very first statement as president: “For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.”
Further, in his farewell address to the nation, Carter remarked to the new President-elect; “I wish him success, and Godspeed.” Before closing his presidency with: “Again, from the bottom of my heart, I want to express to you the gratitude I feel. Thank you, fellow citizens, and farewell.”
The former President ran the Carter Centre, a humanitarian organisation he set up with his wife, Rosalyn. The charity combated third world diseases and built affordable housing. Carter worked on site building houses for a full month every year until he was well into his nineties.
Now, contrary to the mild-mannered, humble, soft-spoken grandfather from Georgia picture I have just painted, Carter out of office was not one to be kept silent when he disagreed about something that the government did, whether they were Democrat or Republican.
Carter was a constant thorn in the side of his successor, whom he disagreed with fundamentally, and he campaigned for his own former Vice President, Walter Mondale, when he ran for election against Reagan in 1984, albeit unsuccessfully.
Carter continually criticised the scandal which marked Bill Clinton’s time in office. Carter, while giving a talk to Emory freshmans, was asked about his opinions on the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and stated that “As one of the very few leaders who served in the White House, I have deplored and been deeply embarrassed about what has occurred there”, despite promising Former President Ford that he would not discuss the topic.
Carter was a fierce opponent to George. W. Bush and his invasion of Iraq, stating in an interview with The Independent; “There was no reason for us to become involved in Iraq last year. That was a war based on lies and misinterpretations from London and Washington, claiming falsely that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, claiming falsely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.”
But Carter was never so critical of any president, as he was of former and current President, Donald. J. Trump.
Carter and Trump had a historically bad relationship. Carter came out strong for Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential Election, despite counselling that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders should have been at the top of the Democratic ticket. Following the 2016 election, Carter expressed concern about the legitimacy of Trump’s victory, believing that a full investigation would reveal that: “He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf”.
Carter tried his best to remain classy, as was his style. He commented “I pray for him” when asked about his opinions on the Republican president in 2017. Despite all the back-and-forth bashing Trump and Carter had engaged in within the media landscape, Carter still accepted a long phone conversation with Trump in 2019 when Trump wanted his advice on how to handle foreign policy with regards to China.
When asked in 2019, who would be getting his vote in the Democratic primary, Carter made his stance clear on what he saw as the necessary course of action in the primary and following election:
“I voted for Bernie Sanders last time. But I’m going to keep an open mind. One of the major factors I will have in my mind is who can beat Trump. Because I think it would be a disaster to have four more years of Trump.”
Now, dear reader, allow me to compare a few of the things I brought up about Former President Carter, against now-incumbent President Trump.
Donald Trump’s inaugural address starts out strong, much like Carter’s: “Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: thank you.
We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.
Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.”
But where Carter went on to talk about the need for America to be an example to the world in its humble power, and powerful mercy, Trump continued on to bash America and those who had administered her;
“For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.
Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth.
Politicians prospered – but the jobs left, and the factories closed.
The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.”
Trump carries on, declaring; “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”
He states boldly that; “We’ve defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own;”
And to round off the regurgitating of his rhetoric; “Together, We Will Make America Strong Again.
We Will Make America Wealthy Again.
We Will Make America Proud Again.
We Will Make America Safe Again.
And, Yes, Together, We Will Make America Great Again.”
Now I would very much like to show and compare Carter’s farewell address to the nation against Trump’s, his closing remarks finished with this “I go from this majestic place with a loyal and joyful heart, an optimistic spirit, and a supreme confidence that for our country and for our children, the best is yet to come.
Thank you, and farewell. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.”
Trump seems to harken that he will make a grand return to the White House and that the incoming administration cannot possibly match his own. But of course, Trump refused to acknowledge the outcome of his losing re-election bid. Instead, he scrambled like a rat in a trap trying to find votes in Georgia to turn the tide. But Jimmy Carter’s home state wouldn’t budge for the beaten President.
Trump whipped his followers into a frenzy, leading to the horrifying events of January 6th, where thousands of MAGA loyalists stormed the U.S. Capitol, in hopes of stopping the certification of Joe Biden as president.
Jimmy Carter, who by this time was ninety-six years old, issued the following statement on the events of January 6th: “Rosalynn and I are troubled by the violence at the U.S. Capitol today. This is a national tragedy and is not who we are as a nation.” The nation which he had held together throughout some of the most partisanly violent periods in American politics, was being torn asunder by a man who values personal ambition above all else.
Jimmy Carter began receiving end of life hospice care in February of 2023, eventually losing his beloved wife of seventy-seven years, Rosalyn Carter, in November of the same year. Carter lived for a full twenty-two months in hospice care, and when asked what kept him going, he reportedly said to family, “I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris”.
James Earl Carter Junior died on the 29th of December 2024. His final vote was for Kamala Harris, and his final act of stubborn defiance, Jimmy Carter’s death, meant that all American Flags would be required to be at half-mast for Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
With Carter gone, a void now has to be filled with regard to criticism of authority. That was undoubtedly the reason that Carter got so far under Trump’s skin, he was an equal.
Carter wasn’t punching up when attacking Trump, he was on a level playing field, and most would agree, Carter was not only the senior in terms of age when it came to the two statesmen. Nobody has the weight to criticise Trump but someone of an equal standing, and there are only four men on the planet who he can view as his equals.
Now we ask, where are the former presidents?
Carter was an old man, with fight in him until the very end, the goal of beating Donald Trump as his driving force to keep him alive. But we see little of this passion from the other former presidents. Other than appearing at some campaign rallies for Kamala Harris during the Campaign, we have seen little and less from former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. President Joe Biden has been radio silent since leaving office in January, and George. W. Bush remains barely a public figure at all.
The only ‘powerful’ opposition from the Democratic party to the latest incarnation of the MAGA regime is a few sporadic posts from veterans like Hilary Clinton. Then there are a few younger Presidential hopefuls such as Governor J.B Pritzker of Illinois, Governor Gavin Newsom of California, and Representative Alexandra Ocasio Cortez speaking out on National TV. However, no figure in the Democratic party, other than perhaps Bernie Sanders, has the kind of following and political weight behind them to match a Former President.
But there are perhaps good reasons for the silence we are seeing from the Former Commanders in Chief.
Jimmy Carter was uniquely suited to be a voice of dissent for all future presidents due simply to the fact that there was very little to catch him out on. He had upheld high personal standards for himself during his time in office, better than Bill Clinton. He had never sent troops to war, and actively strived for peace in all endeavours, beating out Bush and Obama. Finally, he had been in office at an age where age wasn’t a concern, making his elder statesman status in later life an asset rather than a weakness, placing him over Joe Biden.
Now though, the former presidents need to realise that we are in a new era of politics, one where post-truths and lies are as essential to the MAGA regime as water. God only knows what Jimmy Carter would have had to say about Trump’s bashing of the courts, his contempt for the Constitution, and the mockery of an administration he is running. I for one don’t expect Jimmy Carter would have appointed people who were likely to add journalists to their ‘Top-Secret’ group-chats, or those who would discuss such things in a group-chat in the first place.
Their records are one thing, but they need to act now to preserve the country and world order they all swore an oath to and proclaim to love. The former presidents are all titans in their class, each of their words carries weight unlike anyone else on the planet. And if they all threw their weight fully and actively behind a cause, as Carter did, we could see a return to a more civilised form of political discourse and the return of an America that is more recognisable to us all.
“What are the things that you can’t see that are important? I would say justice, truth, humility, service, compassion, love. They’re the guiding lights of a life.”
-Jimmy Carter
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Retrospect Journal 