Trump’s Insight: Why He Believes Jimmy Carter Found Peace in His Last Days
President Donald Trump stated that he believes former President Jimmy Carter “died a happy man”—though his comment was not made in a courteous context.
During an Oval Office meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on April 17, Trump made pointed remarks about two former U.S. presidents: Carter and President Joe Biden. Carter, who holds the record as the longest-living U.S. president, passed away on December 29 at the age of 100.
“The last administration, the only thing they were good at was cheating in elections. That’s all they could do,” Trump claimed, reiterating a debunked assertion that Biden stole the 2020 election. “They couldn’t do anything. They were useless. They were incompetent — worst administration in the history of our country.”
Trump then included Carter in the discussion, stating that the previous administration was “worse than Jimmy Carter.”
“Jimmy Carter died a happy man,” Trump continued. “You know why? Because he wasn’t the worst. President Joe Biden was.”
Trump made similar remarks on Carter’s 100th birthday, October 1, asserting that Carter was “the happiest man because Jimmy Carter is considered a brilliant president” in comparison to Biden.
While Carter was a Democrat, Republican politicians put aside partisan differences to celebrate his momentous birthday.
Following Carter’s death—more than two weeks prior to Trump’s second inauguration—Trump expressed displeasure that the American flags would be flown at half-staff during his inauguration.
This practice—which is standard for the death of any current or former president—applies to “all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels,” as stated by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, and lasts for 30 days afterwards.
“In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast,” Trump wrote in a social media post on January 3. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it.”
Despite Trump’s sentiments, the flags were displayed at full-staff on Inauguration Day. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced on January 14 that he, being responsible for lowering the flags at the Capitol building, would ensure the flags were at full-staff during Trump’s inauguration.
Carter was never an admirer of Trump. In a 2018 interview, he criticized Trump’s character and policies—a notable shift for Carter, who had previously been less outspoken regarding the administration’s actions than other former presidents.
“I think he’s a disaster … in human rights and in treating people equally,” the 39th president remarked.
His wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, added, “The worst is that he is not telling the truth, and that just hurts everything.”
In the weeks that followed, Carter again spoke out against Trump. In an interview with a news outlet, he stated that Trump is “careless with the truth.”
“I think it’s well-known that the incumbent president is very careless with the truth,” Carter said. “I think I went through my campaign and my presidency without ever lying to the people or making a deliberately false statement, and I think that would be a very worthwhile thing to reinsert into politics these days.”
