President Joe Biden on Sunday highlighted a quality that Donald Trump should take from the life of Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100.
“Decency. Decency. Decency,” Biden told a reporter who asked him what Trump should “take” from the late president.
Biden, who had just wrapped up remarks about the peanut farmer-turned-president who later became known for his post-White House humanitarian work, then declared that “everyone deserves a chance” before giving examples to describe Carter’s goodwill.
“Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking past someone who needs something and just walking through? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way he looks or the way he talks? I can’t. I can’t do it,” said Biden, who cut short his vacation trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands to honor Carter.
The president added that the “vast majority” of our nation has laid out what “our values are.
“We said we believed in it. It’s not just in the declara – ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident’, but it is – there is a feeling. The rest of the world is watching us. Looks at us. And he was worth watching,” Biden said.
Trump, in a different tone than previous statements about Carter, paid tribute to the late president on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“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 utmost respect.” wrote the president-elect.
“He was a truly good man and will obviously be greatly missed. He was also very consistent, much more so than most presidents, after leaving the Oval Office. Heartfelt condolences from Melania and me to his wonderful family!”
Trump mocked Carter, among other things, during his campaign on his 100th birthday in October when he claimed the late president was the “luckiest man” because he is “considered a brilliant president compared to Biden.”
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Carter, who warned about Trump’s 2020 re-election would be “a disaster”. and reportedly achieved an end-of-life goal by voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s election asked by Stephen Colbert in 2018 whether his prayers for the then-president were answered.
“Well, I used to have a pastor who said, ‘When you pray, God has three answers: one is yes, one is no, and the third is, you’re kidding. So I’m not sure which one it is yet,” Carter, a lifelong Baptist, said as he laughed.