Former President Jimmy Carter may not be counted among the best presidents, but there are many who remember his presidency fondly. His death came at a tumultuous time for the U.S. as Donald Trump prepares to take power for his second term as president.
Across the political divide people have been reflecting on Carter’s legacy, his time as president, and the person he was, with an almost universally positive outpouring — with the exception of certain pundits like CNN’s Scott Jennings — including poorly received condolences from Donald Trump. Carter’s death comes not long after his centenary birthday, as the ex-president reached the ripe old age of 100 despite being treated in hospice care for terminal cancer. The birthday saw Carter celebrated by politicians and figures like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for his work pre and post-presidency.
It’s fair to say that whatever deficiencies there were in Carter’s presidency, he’s more than made up for it in the minds of many due to the work he did after leaving. During his state funeral, President Biden gave a touching eulogy praising Carter’s strength of character, while also reiterating the need to “stand against hate.” While the eulogy was about Carter and his legacy, Biden’s words also contain oblique references to Trump’s lack of character and the platform of hate upon which he stands.
Despite the jabs being clever enough to fly under the radar, Trump, who was also in attendance, seemed blissfully unaware of any shade being thrown his way. However, someone else in the audience absolutely couldn’t help but respond with a side eye and a knowing smile. Posting about the event on the social media platform an X user shared a clip of Hillary Clinton reacting to Biden’s words that just perfectly captures the moment.
While the clip is a funny capture of Hillary Clinton’s response in the moment, there were many MAGA supporters who took to the comments to cry foul, calling the event “cringe” or stating that Donald Trump was “surrounded by evil.”
Despite Trump supporters flocking to defend their leader from the implications of his own behavior, there were others who resonated with the content of Biden’s eulogy and saw the differences between Carter and Trump as being like night and day.
Even though many Trump supporters feel attacked, the eulogy contains words that celebrate Carter rather than anything that specifically denigrates Trump. That Trump comes away from the eulogy looking a poor contrast is through no fault of Biden: it is hard not to compare the integrity and strength of character possessed by Jimmy Carter with the utter absence of anything resembling either that the world suffers — daily, and vocally across multiple platforms — from Trump, who is one of the most highly publicized figures in the world. It’s not hard to imagine why Hillary Clinton smiled at the implication, or why Trump is the first figure that springs to mind as a comparison.
Published: Jan 11, 2025 01:11 pm