President Biden said former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday, “lived a life measured not by words but by deeds.”
In a Sunday night speech from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Biden added that Carter was “a man not only of our time but for all time.”
Jimmy Carter remembered by Biden
“And his compassion and moral clarity lifted people up and changed lives and saved lives all over the globe,” Biden said. “Jimmy Carter is an example of simple decency.”
Biden celebrated Carter’s long history of service to his country, including serving in the Navy, serving his home state of Georgia as a governor and state senator, and his service to the nation as the 39th president.
Biden, in the 10-minute speech, noted how he had known Carter for decades and counted him a friend and confidant.
FILE- In this Aug. 27, 2018 file photo, former President Jimmy Carter works with other volunteers on site during the first day of the weeklong Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, their 35th work project with Habitat for Humanity, in Mishawaka, Ind. Carter turns 95 on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. (Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP, File)Former President Jimmy Carter is not dead, despite fraudulent reportsIn this Sept. 30, 2018, file photo former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter are seen ahead of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter sits on the Atlanta Falcons bench before the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Diego Chargers, Oct. 23, 2016, in Atlanta. Former President Carter, on Saturday Sept. 23 2023 made a surprise appearance at the Plains Peanut Festival in their Georgia hometown, the Carter Center wrote in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter greets attendees as he departs the funeral service for his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., Nov. 29, 2023. Former President Carter will be honored next month, ahead of his 100th birthday, with a musical gala at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, The Carter Center announced Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)FILE – Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown, Aug. 23, 2015, in Plains, Ga. In the year since Jimmy Carter first entered home hospice care, the 39th president has celebrated his 99th birthday, enjoyed tributes to his legacy and outlived his wife of 77 years. Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 after suffering from dementia, spent just a few days under hospice. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)FILE – In this Nov. 3, 2019, file photo, former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
“When I endorsed him for president I told him it was not only for his policies but his character,” Biden said.
“His life was dedicated to others,” Biden said, listing some of his efforts which included working to fight disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections around the world, and build housing for the homeless with his own hands.
The outgoing president noted how loss, and in particular, cancer, had brought his family closer to the Carters over the years.
“What I find extraordinary is millions of people around the world feel they lost a friend as well even though they never met him,” Biden said.
Asked if there were any lessons President-elect Trump could take from Carter, Biden said, “Decency, decency, decency,” adding that Carter would never neglect someone in need or demean them based on their looks.
“We could all do well to be a little more like Jimmy Carter,” said Biden.
