President Jimmy Carter has died

December 29, 2024 - WASHINGTON, D.C., - former President Jimmy Carter (D) has passed away after a lengthy illness. He was 100.

U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) released a statement following the announcement of the death of the former President who served from 1977 to 1981.

"From his time tending to his family farm in our neighboring Georgia to being leader of the free world, President Jimmy Carter lived a life deeply rooted in faith and service above self," said Senator Britt. "As a native of the Wiregrass, I have always been especially inspired by this small town peanut farmer's journey. President Carter truly lived the American Dream. However, it was his servant leadership after his presidency for which I respect him most."

"Alongside his beloved wife, Rosalyn, President Carter for decades gave every ounce of his devotion to lifting up vulnerable Americans and empowering them with the opportunity to pursue their own success stories," Britt continued. "They did so humbly and whole-heartedly, never forgetting who they were or Whose they were. The characteristics the Carters unceasingly personified are ones by which we want the world to know the South – grace, grit, and goodwill. They leave behind not only an enduring legacy of faithfulness, but a clarion charge for generations to come to honor and emulate."

"Wesley and I join families across Alabama in praying for the Carter family as they mourn the loss of a loving father and grandfather, and as our fellow Americans and people around the globe celebrate the life of an uncommonly genuine, good, and kind man," Britt concluded

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) said on his X social media account, "President Carter dedicated his life to serving his community and country. Suzanne and I are praying for his family and friends."

The White House posted a picture of President Carter and then Senator Joseph R. Biden (D-Delaware) in the White House with the statement, "To the entire Carter family, on behalf of the whole nation, we send our gratitude for sharing President Carter with us for so many years."

"'In today's world some look at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era, with honesty and character, faith and humility, it mattered,' Biden said in remarks to reporters. 'But I don't think it's bygone era. I see a man not only of our time but for all times. 'Someone who embodied the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away. Although sometimes it seems like it is."

After the death of Carter, Biden is now the oldest living President of the United States at age 81.

President-elect Donald J. Trump (R) released a statement on Truth Social.

"President Jimmy Carter is dead at 100 years of age," Trump wrote. "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. 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!"

Carter was the Governor of Georgia when he ran for President in 1976, emerging from a crowded Democratic primary field. He won the nomination and went on to defeat incumbent President Gerald Ford (R) in the 1976 general election.

Carter's presidency was rocked by the overthrow of the Shah of Iran – at that time the most Westernized nation in the Middle East - by Shiite extremists. Overnight Iran went from our strongest ally in the Middle East to America's most unhinged enemy. Iran seized the U.S. embassy and took the diplomats and Marines their hostages. The Soviet Union was challenging the U.S. across the globe – Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge committed genocide against the perceived intelligentsia in Cambodia. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan starting that country's fall into darkness. The Somaza government in Nicaragua fell to the communist Sandinistas destabilizing Central America. Domestically, the fall of Iran meant energy shortages as the U.S. had been importing enormous amounts of oil from the Iranians. Carter urged conservation. Carter responded to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by announcing a boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and freezing all grain imports to the Soviet Union – which at that time relied on American wheat. The resulting farm economy crash had enormous long term ramifications for rural America. America experienced double digit inflation during the Carter years. Former California Governor Ronald W. Reagan (R) defeated Carter in 1980.

President Carter was preceded in death by his beloved wife - Rosalyn - who passed away in November 2023.

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