Jimmy Carter's funeral: Fanfare for the common man with an extraordinary life

WASHINGTON — Friends, family and even a long-deceased former rival honored Jimmy Carter on Thursday at the late president’s state funeral at Washington National Cathedral.

The eulogies — two written years ago before the authors themselves died — all served, in part, as subtle rebukes to the current political climate, emphasizing Carter’s honesty and humility.

The 39th president, aged 100, died at his modest home in Plains, Ga., on Dec. 29, after spending nearly two years in hospice care. Carter’s remains were transported to the cathedral this morning after lying in state at the Capitol, where members of the public continued to pay their respects overnight.

Carter’s grandson, Joshua Carter, remembered the Sunday school lectures he gave at Maranatha Baptist Church. “When my grandfather won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Sunday school class learned first. At the end of his Nobel Peace Prize lecture, he stated that, ‘The most serious and universal problem on our planet is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on Earth.’”

“As the problem compounded, he returned to this theme, with stories from the Bible and stories from today, of the richest people in the world using their enormous wealth to buy a nation’s poverty,” the younger Carter continued.

Steven Ford, the son of President Gerald Ford, spoke to the uncommon bond often shared among presidential families, speaking to Carter’s children. “I was humbly reminded that it was 18 years ago, almost to the day, that our family sat in that row,” he said, “and it was your dad and his great faith that supported my mom and gave her hope that week.”

Before his death in 2006, Gerald Ford had asked Carter to deliver a eulogy. Carter agreed on the condition that Ford write one for him. Ford’s son delivered that tribute on Thursday.

Ford recalled flying with Carter to the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981. On the flight back, the two former presidents agreed “that a lasting Middle East peace would require the United States to make tough decisions like confronting the Palestinian issue directly,” Ford wrote. “It was the first time, but by no means the last time that our unlikely partnership ruffled feathers in the Washington establishment.”

Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, similarly wrote a eulogy for the president before he died in 2021. Mondale’s son, Ted, delivered it in his stead. “Towards the end of our time in the White House, the president and I were talking about how we might describe what we tried to accomplish in office. We came up with a sentence which remains an important summary of our work,” Mondale wrote. “We told the truth, we obeyed the law, and we kept the peace. That we did, Mr. President.”

Amid prayers, anthems, hymns and a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” sung by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Carter was eulogized by another grandson, Jason, and Stuart Eizenstat, his domestic affairs adviser. President Joe Biden gave the final eulogy.

Eizenstat’s remembrance served as a defense of Carter’s administration, highlighting his role in creating FEMA and the Department of Education, expanding the National Park Service, reducing U.S. dependency on foreign oil, spurring development of alternative energy, legalizing home brewing (which launched the craft beer industry), appointing Paul Volcker to the Federal Reserve (who curtailed inflation), championing human rights, signing the Panama Canal treaties, and brokering peace between Israel and Egypt.

Jason Carter lightened the mood by remembering Carter as he knew him, as “Pawpaw,” recalling how his grandfather, after years of resistance, got his first cellphone. Soon after, he accidentally called Jason while trying to take a photo. “Nuclear engineer, right?” the younger Carter said, drawing laughter.

Biden recalled how he was one of the first senators to endorse Carter for president, based on “what I believe is Jimmy Carter’s enduring attribute: character, character, character.”

“What does it take to build character?” the outgoing president asked. “Do the ends justify the means? Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and … his life taught me, that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold. It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect.”

All of the living former presidents attended the ceremony. As he arrived, President-elect Donald Trump shook hands with former Vice President Mike Pence, who defied Trump’s demands to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading supporters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to chant “Hang Mike Pence.”

Barack Obama sat next to Trump, and the two chatted amicably before the ceremony. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also attended with their wives, shaking hands with the former vice presidents seated behind them, but appearing to ignore Trump as they arrived.

Following the state funeral, Carter’s remains will travel back to his home in Plains, where he will be interred in a private ceremony.

Across town at the Capitol, the state funeral conflicted with a House vote on a bill that would sanction the International Criminal Court over its attempts to arrest Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes. It was held open to accommodate lawmakers returning from the cathedral.

On the House floor, Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller suggested few Democrats opposed the measure, noting the slim turnout during debate.

“The reason why my colleagues are not here is because the Republicans scheduled this debate during President Carter’s funeral, which I find to be incredibly disappointing, given President Carter’s stature in this country and his commitment to human rights,” retorted Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.