Geraldo Rivera recalls Jimmy Carter’s life, legacy
(NewsNation) — Former President Jimmy Carter was the “most underrated president we’ve ever had,” NewsNation correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera said in the hours after the 100-year-old’s passing.
“He was a wonderful president and even better in his post-presidential life, I think that history will come to regard him, really, truly, as one of the best we’ve had,” Rivera said on “NewsNation Prime.”
Carter, the 39th president known for his peanut farm and loving relationship with his wife, passed away on Dec. 29, 2024, in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, after more than a year of hospice care.
Rivera first met Carter at a campaign event in 1975, the first time the then-Georgia governor had traveled north of the Mason-Dixon line.
Rivera ended up introducing Carter at the event through a connection with the southern rock band the Allman Brothers.
“I was very proud,” Rivera said. “I played a tiny part in the history to help propel this really wonderful man, wonderful, compassionate man.”
Carter himself said the Allman Brothers helped him get elected.
Rivera also praised Carter for his lasting work as a private and political humanitarian.
Though Rivera acknowledged that, even after winning the Oval Office, Carter “never became polished,” it’s his unabashed earnestness that made him so effective as a peacemaker.
Carter is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. His wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, preceded him in death on Nov. 19, 2023.
“We’re all we’re all praying for him, and we know that, you know, if there’s a heaven, Jimmy Carter has a front row seat,” Rivera said.
