Carter funeral brings Trump together with presidents he's criticized
President-elect Trump will join the other four living American presidents Thursday at former President Carter’s funeral service in Washington, putting him side by side with Democratic predecessors who have described him as a threat to democracy.
Trump has long been an outsider among the living presidents and has sometimes skipped events attended by other members of the world’s most exclusive club.
He did not attend services in 2020 for civil rights icon and former Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who was eulogized by former Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton. Carter, then 95, did not attend but wrote a letter that was read aloud at the services.
Obama, Bush and Clinton also attended services for the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2018. Trump, who later complained he did not receive a proper thank you for the arrangements, was not invited.
And Trump did not attend the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush in 2018. Then-first lady Melania Trump joined the Obamas, the Clintons, George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush at the service.
Trump has also broken the mold with harsh attacks on past presidents in both parties, raising questions about whether the other presidents even want him around.
Trump accused Obama of spying on him, and suggested falsely for years that he was not really born in the U.S. and shouldn’t have been elected president.
He’s been nearly as pointed with his jabs against George W. Bush, frequently invoking the 9/11 attacks, ridiculing his invasion of Iraq and calling his presidency “failed and uninspiring.”
Trump has harshly criticized former Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom he defeated in the 2016 campaign. He brought women who had accused Bill Clinton of rape to one of the 2016 debates.
Trump has shifted a bit with Carter, issuing a statement after his death praising the 39th president's legacy and work to improve the lives of “all Americans.”
At his press conference Tuesday, he swiped at Carter’s presidential legacy, albeit in a relatively gentle way for Trump.
“Look, I liked him as a man. I disagreed with his policy,” Trump said. “So hey, he thought giving away the Panama Canal was a good thing. I think it cost him the election. That and the hostages.”
He also criticized President Biden’s proclamation lowering federal flags for 30 days to honor Carter — a standard for presidential deaths — noting it will include his inauguration.
“Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out,” Trump said of the flags staying half-staff through Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
Viewers watching Carter’s funeral Thursday will be watching Trump’s actions with the other presidents.
“What we can expect for Trump is always the unexpected. But in many ways, I think people will be looking to how he interacts at the event with Carter's family and with those former presidents,” said Amber Roessner, a journalism professor at the University of Tennessee and expert on the life of Carter.
Carter had warned it would be a “disaster” for Trump to win reelection during the 2020 campaign. During the 2024 campaign, Carter's desire to cast a ballot for Vice President Harris, even while in hospice care, also became a storyline political watchers monitored as Election Day drew closer.
Trump frequently used Carter as a laugh line during rallies, telling his supporters that the 39th president must have been thrilled, because his term looked good in comparison to Biden’s.
“[Biden] makes Jimmy Carter look great,” Trump said at a Nov. 2 rally in North Carolina. “Jimmy Carter is the happiest man. He just turned 100, and he can now go down as a brilliant president by comparison to this.”
Biden, who as a senator endorsed Carter in 1976, has reflected upon Carter’s legacy in recent days as he prepares to deliver a eulogy at Thursday’s services in Washington.
“Carter was a decent man,” Biden told USA Today in an interview published Wednesday. “I think Carter looked at the world, not from here, but from here. Where everybody else lives. And I think that he really genuinely cared about average people. He reminds me a little bit of my dad.”
Trump’s appearance at the funeral is likely to be a rare moment where the exclusive presidential club comes together as one for a day, Roessner said.
“I think that what we’ll see is kind of a fragile moment of unity,” she said. “I say a fragile moment of unity, because Trump certainly has a very complicated relationship and understanding of former President Carter, but so do all of the individuals who will be in that space tomorrow.”