The group's dynamic is severely split six years later, and the Washington National Cathedral ceremony will be widely scrutinized. The past presidents have spoken out strongly against Trump, who in less than two weeks will return to the White House after making a triumphant electoral comeback following his humiliation four years ago, both directly and indirectly.
Read Also: What are some key facts about Kamala Harris's political career?
A Tribute to Jimmy Carter: Navigating Controversy
Jimmy Carter, former president, visits his home in Plains, Georgia, September 30, 2017.
The five surviving American presidents will come together "at a funeral for a man who always stood a bit, figuratively, apart from them," according to Brower. They are united by their common experience of serving in what one of their predecessors, William Howard Taft, once called "the loneliest place in the world."
Past rivalries and future legacies often complicate the president's club. As Trump, who has blasted all of his predecessors, prepares to return to the White House, those issues have only become worse. However, the members—all males thus far—are united by the unique experience of holding the presidency, irrespective of their political affiliation.
Jimmy Carter's life included 17 presidents of the US ranging from Joe Biden to Calvin Coolidge. The longest-serving part of the president's club and the oldest surviving president at 100, he paved his own way in the 43 years after leaving the White House.
Tense connections
Both Republicans and Democrats hurried to honor Carter's legacy and the decades-long example he established after leaving office.
However, in real life, Carter's connections with presidents were frequently more tense; Democrats like Clinton and Obama, for example, rarely sought his advice or publicly consulted him out of concern that they would be too strongly linked to a one-term presidency that ended in defeat.
Read Also: What key points did Kamala Harris make in her opening argument, and how might they impact her political strategy moving forward?
Obama emphasized a passage from Carter's 2002 Nobel Peace Prize address in his remembrance of his life last week: "God gives us the capacity for choice." We have the option to lessen pain. We have the option to cooperate for peace.
However, Obama didn't bring up Carter when he was surprised to win the Nobel Prize in 2009, his first year in office. However, he specifically mentioned John F. Kennedy.
Carter openly stated in 2014 that he was not contacted by Obama when he was president. Carter responded, "Unfortunately, the answer is no," when asked by NBC News if Obama consults his attorney. Obama doesn't.
He explained his divergence from Obama by pointing to the Carter Center's "strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis": "I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn't want to be involved."
A number of presidents relied on Carter's expertise, counsel, and diplomatic skills. However, Carter didn't hesitate to use his position to criticize his successors when he thought it was appropriate, even if it caused them problems.
Bush's reversal
In a 2007 interview, Carter publicly criticized George W. Bush and his management of the Iraq War, demonstrating his disapproval of the government.
This administration has had the worst negative impact on the country globally, in my opinion," Carter told The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, scolding Bush for his "overt reversal of America's basic values."
The Clinton administration
Carter offered to assist in defusing tensions with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, and Clinton accepted the offer as president.
In a brief history of their relationship, the Clinton Library stated, "President Carter's use to resolve this conflict proved complicated, as he announced an unofficial agreement with North Korea to bring an end to the stalemate on CNN before allowing the Clinton Administration officials to review the agreement."
Later, Carter accompanied Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell on a diplomatic mission to "avoid an armed conflict with the military leaders of Haiti," according to the Clinton Library.
The New York Times claims that Carter "went on CNN before meeting Mr. Clinton for breakfast and a planned joint news conference," which is when the two allegedly got into a heated argument.
Must Know: What is the political ideology of Hamas?
The years of Trump
Throughout the president-elect's first term, Carter had many communications with Trump and his administration.
Carter stated in 2018 that he was briefed on North Korea after Trump announced fresh sanctions on the nation and that he would be open to visiting the country on the administration's behalf. However, Trump never accepted Carter's invitation. Carter met with Trump over the phone and sent him a letter on US-China trade ties in 2019.
Later that year, however, the relationship soured as Carter demanded a thorough probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, arguing that it "would show that Trump didn't actually win the election." Later, in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak, Carter sternly criticized Trump for his decision to cut off financing to the World Health Organization.
During a June 2019 G20 Summit press conference, Trump, for his part, referred to Carter as a “terrible president” and a “nice man”.
The allegiance of Biden
The last president to consistently call on his fellow citizens to make sacrifices was Carter, a product of the Great Depression. Carter's demands, which ranged from restricting driving and gas usage to wearing a sweater and turning down the heat, were politically unpopular and produced a parody of a president that his predecessors were keen to disassociate themselves from.
Democrats in the West Wing were reluctant to ask Carter for advice or even to bring up his name during the worst of the Great Recession, when the George W. Bush administration was coming to a conclusion and the Obama administration was taking over. Republicans were much more inclined to invoke him in a derogatory and insulting manner.
The legacy of Carter
Carter followed his own path, much like his predecessors and successors. He developed ties with a few presidents, most notably Gerald Ford, whom he beat in 1976, by showing him leniency early and frequently. However, he never really connected with Ronald Reagan, whom he lost to in 1980.
After leaving the White House, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, took a while to get over perceived or actual slights from official Washington. Carter was the last to adopt Harry Truman's strategy of avoiding making money from paid speeches or other activities after leaving office.
The late president's son, Chip Carter, mentioned in passing the sense that his parents still had when they went back to Georgia and took charge of creating their own legacy.
Wartian Herkku
The group's dynamic is severely split six years later, and the Washington National Cathedral ceremony will be widely scrutinized. The past presidents have spoken out strongly against Trump, who in less than two weeks will return to the White House after making a triumphant electoral comeback following his humiliation four years ago, both directly and indirectly.
Read Also: What are some key facts about Kamala Harris's political career?
A Tribute to Jimmy Carter: Navigating Controversy
Jimmy Carter, former president, visits his home in Plains, Georgia, September 30, 2017.
The five surviving American presidents will come together "at a funeral for a man who always stood a bit, figuratively, apart from them," according to Brower. They are united by their common experience of serving in what one of their predecessors, William Howard Taft, once called "the loneliest place in the world."
Past rivalries and future legacies often complicate the president's club. As Trump, who has blasted all of his predecessors, prepares to return to the White House, those issues have only become worse. However, the members—all males thus far—are united by the unique experience of holding the presidency, irrespective of their political affiliation.
Jimmy Carter's life included 17 presidents of the US ranging from Joe Biden to Calvin Coolidge. The longest-serving part of the president's club and the oldest surviving president at 100, he paved his own way in the 43 years after leaving the White House.
Tense connections
Both Republicans and Democrats hurried to honor Carter's legacy and the decades-long example he established after leaving office.
However, in real life, Carter's connections with presidents were frequently more tense; Democrats like Clinton and Obama, for example, rarely sought his advice or publicly consulted him out of concern that they would be too strongly linked to a one-term presidency that ended in defeat.
Read Also: What key points did Kamala Harris make in her opening argument, and how might they impact her political strategy moving forward?
Obama emphasized a passage from Carter's 2002 Nobel Peace Prize address in his remembrance of his life last week: "God gives us the capacity for choice." We have the option to lessen pain. We have the option to cooperate for peace.
However, Obama didn't bring up Carter when he was surprised to win the Nobel Prize in 2009, his first year in office. However, he specifically mentioned John F. Kennedy.
Carter openly stated in 2014 that he was not contacted by Obama when he was president. Carter responded, "Unfortunately, the answer is no," when asked by NBC News if Obama consults his attorney. Obama doesn't.
He explained his divergence from Obama by pointing to the Carter Center's "strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis": "I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn't want to be involved."
A number of presidents relied on Carter's expertise, counsel, and diplomatic skills. However, Carter didn't hesitate to use his position to criticize his successors when he thought it was appropriate, even if it caused them problems.
Bush's reversal
In a 2007 interview, Carter publicly criticized George W. Bush and his management of the Iraq War, demonstrating his disapproval of the government.
This administration has had the worst negative impact on the country globally, in my opinion," Carter told The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, scolding Bush for his "overt reversal of America's basic values."
The Clinton administration
Carter offered to assist in defusing tensions with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, and Clinton accepted the offer as president.
In a brief history of their relationship, the Clinton Library stated, "President Carter's use to resolve this conflict proved complicated, as he announced an unofficial agreement with North Korea to bring an end to the stalemate on CNN before allowing the Clinton Administration officials to review the agreement."
Later, Carter accompanied Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell on a diplomatic mission to "avoid an armed conflict with the military leaders of Haiti," according to the Clinton Library.
The New York Times claims that Carter "went on CNN before meeting Mr. Clinton for breakfast and a planned joint news conference," which is when the two allegedly got into a heated argument.
Must Know: What is the political ideology of Hamas?
The years of Trump
Throughout the president-elect's first term, Carter had many communications with Trump and his administration.
Carter stated in 2018 that he was briefed on North Korea after Trump announced fresh sanctions on the nation and that he would be open to visiting the country on the administration's behalf. However, Trump never accepted Carter's invitation. Carter met with Trump over the phone and sent him a letter on US-China trade ties in 2019.
Later that year, however, the relationship soured as Carter demanded a thorough probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, arguing that it "would show that Trump didn't actually win the election." Later, in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak, Carter sternly criticized Trump for his decision to cut off financing to the World Health Organization.
During a June 2019 G20 Summit press conference, Trump, for his part, referred to Carter as a “terrible president” and a “nice man”.
The allegiance of Biden
The last president to consistently call on his fellow citizens to make sacrifices was Carter, a product of the Great Depression. Carter's demands, which ranged from restricting driving and gas usage to wearing a sweater and turning down the heat, were politically unpopular and produced a parody of a president that his predecessors were keen to disassociate themselves from.
Democrats in the West Wing were reluctant to ask Carter for advice or even to bring up his name during the worst of the Great Recession, when the George W. Bush administration was coming to a conclusion and the Obama administration was taking over. Republicans were much more inclined to invoke him in a derogatory and insulting manner.
The legacy of Carter
Carter followed his own path, much like his predecessors and successors. He developed ties with a few presidents, most notably Gerald Ford, whom he beat in 1976, by showing him leniency early and frequently. However, he never really connected with Ronald Reagan, whom he lost to in 1980.
After leaving the White House, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, took a while to get over perceived or actual slights from official Washington. Carter was the last to adopt Harry Truman's strategy of avoiding making money from paid speeches or other activities after leaving office.
The late president's son, Chip Carter, mentioned in passing the sense that his parents still had when they went back to Georgia and took charge of creating their own legacy.