President Joe Biden on Sunday emphasized a quality that Donald Trump should grab from the life of Jimmy Carter, who died at age 100.
“Decency. Decency. Decency,” Biden told a reporter who asked him what Trump should “take” from the late president.
Biden, who had just wrapped remarks on the peanut farmer-turned-president that later became known for his post-White House humanitarian work, went on to declare that “everybody deserves a shot” before offering examples to describe Carter’s goodwill.
“Can you imagine Jimmy Carter walking by someone who needed something and just keep walking? Can you imagine Jimmy Carter referring to someone by the way they look or the way they talk? I can’t. I can’t,” said Biden, who paused his holiday trip in the U.S. Virgin Islands to honor Carter.
The president added that the “bulk” of our nation has laid out what “our values are.
“We said we believe. It’s not just in the declara — ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident,’ but it’s — there’s a feeling. The rest of the world looks to us. Looks to us. And he was worth looking to,” Biden said.
Trump, in a change of tune from past jabs at 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 highest respect,” the president-elect wrote.
“He was a truly good man and, of course, will be greatly missed. He was also very consequential, far more than most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office. Warmest condolences from Melania and I to his wonderful family!”
Trump mocked Carter on the campaign trail including on his 100th birthday back in October when he claimed that the late president was the “happiest man” because he’s “considered a brilliant president in comparison” to Biden.
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Carter, who warned that reelecting Trump in 2020 would be “a disaster” and reportedly fulfilled an end-of-life goal by voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s election, was asked by Stephen Colbert in 2018 whether his prayers for the then-president were being answered.
“Well, I used to have a pastor who would say, ’When you pray, God has three answers: one is yes, the other one is no and the third one is you’ve gotta be kidding. So I’m not sure which one it is yet,” said Carter, a lifelong Baptist, as he let out a laugh.