U.S. military carry the flag-draped casket bearing the remains of former President Jimmy Carter into the Washington National Cathedral for the state funeral on Thursday in Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden declared today a national day of mourning for Carter who died at the age of 100 on Dec. 29, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Political leaders in Washington are honoring the life of former President Jimmy Carter with a funeral service at the National Cathedral this morning.
It’s the ultimate Washington insider sendoff for a public servant known throughout his career as a political outsider. Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at 100, was the nation’s longest-living president.
Watch NPR’s live special coverage of the National Cathedral service:
The funeral at the National Cathedral is part of a national day of mourning, which President Biden declared in Carter’s honor after his death. Biden was a longtime colleague of Carter and will deliver a eulogy during the service. Members of Carter’s family and his former colleagues are also delivering remarks.
All four living former presidents attending the funeral, including President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in less than two weeks.
Thursday’s event marks the final public tribute to Carter, following additional funeral services and ceremonies since Saturday at the U.S. Capitol, the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta and his hometown of Plains, Ga. Following his national funeral service, the late president’s remains will be transported back to Georgia for a private ceremony and burial in Plains.
In addition to Biden’s eulogy, Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, delivered a personal family tribute.
Notably, the son of former President Gerald Ford, Steve Ford, delivered a posthumous eulogy to the 39th president written by his father — a striking nod to Carter’s longevity, given he outlived Ford by nearly 18 years.
“It’s a long way between Grand Rapids, Mich., and Plains, Ga., but distances have a way of vanishing when measured in values rather than miles,” Ford said. “It was because of our shared values that Jimmy and I respected each other as adversaries even before we cherished one another as dear friends.”
The son of former Vice President Walter Mondale will also read a eulogy written by the late vice president. Carter’s former aide, Stu Eizenstat is also slated to speak.
Country stars Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood are also set to sing “Imagine” by John Lennon — known as Carter’s favorite song.
In remarks after Carter’s death, Biden called the late president a “dear friend” and praised his character, highlighting Carter’s record as president and his more than four decades of humanitarian work after leaving the White House.
“What I find extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people all around the world, all over the world, feel they lost a friend, as well, even though they never met him,” Biden said. “That’s because Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words but by his deeds.”
Trump recently criticized Carter’s presidential record during a news conference, arguing that the late former president lost his 1980 reelection bid due to his decision to relinquish control of the Canal Zone in Panama.
President-elect Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump pay their respects in front of the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 8.
Tyrone Turner/WAMU
hide caption
toggle caption
Tyrone Turner/WAMU
“Nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal now because, you know, it’s inappropriate, I guess,” Trump said. “Because it’s a bad part of the Carter legacy.”
“He was a good man. I knew him a little bit, and he was a very fine person, but that was a big mistake,” Trump added. On Wednesday evening, the president-elect and his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, paid their respects to Carter, who was lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda this week. Trump later told reporters he met with members of the Carter family earlier in the day.
The public was also able to pay tribute to the former president. While waiting in line outside the Capitol, Carter’s supporters praised his long career in public life.
The public write notes in condolence books in the Capitol Visitor Center, near the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter lying in state in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 8.
Maansi Srivastava for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Maansi Srivastava for NPR
Mark Wentzell of Minneapolis, Minn., who traveled to the memorial with his daughter, told NPR that Carter was “a real role model for everyone.”
“He was so sincere in everything he did,” he said.
“I view him as a really good man, high moral values” Washington, D.C., resident Bruce Meredith said as he got in line. “He seriously was a public servant. He gave all he had to this country. And that’s why I respect him so much.”
Susan Prolman was just 11 years old when Carter ran for president, but she recalled fondly how he stayed in her family’s home in New Hampshire during the 1976 primary.
“Instead of staying at hotels, they stayed at people’s houses,” she said. “It was very exciting.”
Susan Prolman, 59, holds up a sign from when she campaigned for President Jimmy Carter as a child growing up in New Hampshire. She remembers him coming to stay with her family during a campaign visit. Prolman visited the flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter lying in state in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 8.
Maansi Srivastava for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Maansi Srivastava for NPR
Standing outside the Capitol, Prolman, who now lives in D.C., held up her handwritten ‘Carter for President’ poster that she made nearly 50 years ago. Under those words were small hand-drawn peanuts, a nod to his time as a peanut farmer.
“He was a truly kind man,” she said. “He brought so much to this country.”
