Joe Biden said Donald Trump should learn “decency” from Jimmy Carter’s legacy, in remarks delivered hours after the former president’s death on Sunday at age 100.
Speaking to reporters during a family vacation in the US Virgin Islands, the outgoing US president drew sharp contrasts between Carter’s character and that of his predecessor Trump, who is set to take over a second term as commander-in-chief in January.
When asked if there was anything Trump could learn from Carter, Biden replied: “Decency. Decency. Decency.”
The outgoing president spoke for nine minutes about Carter, describing him as a humanitarian, personal friend and a “remarkable leader”. He emphasized how Carter’s values reflected on America’s global standing, noting that “the rest of the world looks to us. And he was worth looking to.”
Trump, who has had public disagreements with Carter in the past, struck a more measured tone in his response. The 45th and incoming 47th US president released two statements on Sunday praising Carter as “a truly good man” for whom he had the “highest respect” – and describing him as more consequential than most holders of the Oval Office.
“While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our country, and all it stands for,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect.”
Trump’s response to Carter’s death was a striking U-turn from recent rhetoric. In October, on Carter’s 100th birthday, Trump was campaigning Waunakee, Wisconsin, and mocked the former president as “the happiest man” because Biden’s one-term presidency made Carter’s look “brilliant” in comparison.
