President Biden addressed the nation Sunday following the death of former President Jimmy Carter, praising the late politician while slamming the current president-elect during his speech.
In a hoarse voice during his speech, Mr. Biden said Sunday that he had “lost a dear friend,” adding that he had known Mr. Carter for more than 50 years. Carter passed away at the age of 100 in Plains, Georgia, after nearly two years of hospice care.
In his speech, Biden said Carter was an example of “what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, of principles, of faith, of humility.”
“Some people look at Jimmy Carter and think of him as a bygone era of integrity and character. Faith and humility were important, but I don’t think that’s a bygone era,” Biden said. No,” he said. “We could all strive to be more like Jimmy Carter.”
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, dies at age 100
Biden criticized Donald Trump on Sunday in a speech about Jimmy Carter’s legacy. (Getty Images)
Mr. Biden said his fondest memory with Mr. Carter was in the 1970s, when the then-Georgia governor asked Mr. Biden to help him with his presidential campaign.
“He grabbed my arm and said, ‘I want you to help me campaign,'” Biden recalled. “I said, ‘Governor, I’ve only been a few years.’ He said, ‘No, it’s going to make a difference.’ ”
“I said, ‘I don’t know if that’s going to happen,'” Biden added. “When I supported him as a presidential candidate, why I supported him, and it was not just because of his policies, but because of his character, his civility, and the honor that he conveys to everyone. I said there is.”
Jimmy, Rosalynn Carter Habitat for Humanity Legacy Continues, Group Says
Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter and their children at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City. (Ron Galera)
When a reporter asked Biden what President-elect Trump should draw from Carter’s legacy, Biden replied, “Common sense.”
“Courtesy, courtesy, courtesy.…Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking past someone who needed something and just continuing to walk? Can you imagine where I’m pointing?”
Biden’s speech came after Trump released his own statement on Carter’s death.
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former president jimmy carter (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“Those of us who have been fortunate enough to serve as president understand that this is a very exclusive club. We are the only ones who can relate to the great responsibility of leading the greatest country in history. ” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a critical time for our country, and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude. be.”
Trump later wrote that although he “strongly” disagreed with Carter philosophically and politically, he recognized that the former president “genuinely loved and respected” America and everything it stands for.
“He worked hard to make America a better place, and I have the utmost respect for him for that,” Trump said. “He will of course be greatly missed because he was a really good person, and he was a person who had far more influence after he left the Oval Office than most presidents.”
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
