The state funeral of former US President Jimmy Carter was held at the Washington National Cathedral. The current president of the United States, Joe Biden, the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, as well as former presidents: Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clinton took part in the funeral. During the speech, Biden said that “Jimmy Carter’s enduring quality was his strong character.”
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died on December 29 last year. He was a hundred years old. He was in office from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Carter’s funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral began shortly after 1 p.m. 10 o’clock local time (in Poland).
The current president of the United States, Joe Biden, the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, as well as former presidents: Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clinton took part in the funeral. Politicians were accompanied by their spouses.
Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington
“He was brilliant and had a great sense of humor.”
The grandson of the late president, Joshua Carter, recalled in his speech that his grandfather “spent all his time helping those in need.” – He built houses for needy people, fought with diseases in unforgettable places, fought for peace wherever he was and wherever he saw an opportunity. He loved people, Joshua Carter said.
Ted Mondale, son of Vice President Walter Mondale, who died in 2021, read his father’s 2015 letter at the memorial service. Walter Mondale recalled that he was surprised by Carter’s offer to invite him to the White House in 1976. “He was wonderful and had a great sense of humor,” reads part of the letter.
Donald Trump and his wife Melania attend the funeral of Carter Reuters
Biden: He taught me that strength of character is more than power
– Jimmy Carter’s friendship and his entire life taught me that strength of character is not just the title or the power we have. “It’s the power to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, that everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an equal opportunity,” Joe Biden said.
“We have a duty to ensure that hatred has no safe haven here and to oppose what my father called the greatest sin, the abuse of power,” the president added.
Outgoing President Joe Biden said at the memorial service that Jimmy Carter’s lasting quality was “his strong character.”
Biden emphasized that Carter embodied the ideals of America as a man from a small town without water and electricity who rose to the top, but at the same time he was humble and used his power to implement the words of the Savior and the ideals of this nation.
The coffin with the body of the 39th president of the USA will be transported to Carter’s hometown – Plains, Georgia. There, after a private service, he will be laid to rest in his riverside plot, next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalyn.
Main image credit: SUSAN WALSH/EPA/PAP
