Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Photo by Alex Brandon – Pool/Getty Images

‘The only one who actually was nice and not a demon’: 100-year-old Jimmy Carter just made U.S. presidential history

He can add this to his long list of remarkable achievements.

Let’s go back, if you will, to a simpler time. A time before divisiveness plagued the political process and before presidential candidates called each other schoolyard insults. Back to 1977 when a humble peanut farmer captivated the world’s imagination and rose to the highest office in America. That man, former President Jimmy Carter, made more history today by reaching the ripe old age of 100 and becoming the longest-living president in the history of the United States.

Recommended Videos

Age is a big topic in the presidential race this year. Donald Trump is 78 years old, almost 20 years older than his opponent Kamala Harris, who is 59. President Joe Biden is 81 and the oldest president to ever serve. If Trump is elected and lives through his term, he will steal that record. Regardless, Carter is almost 20 years older than that.

Other long-living presidents include George H. W. Bush, who lived to 94, and Gerald Ford, who made it to 93. Ronald Reagan also made it to 93.

It should also be noted that Carter was known as a really nice man. He’s warmly remembered by history as someone who truly cares about people over money and politics, and his years building houses for Habitat for Humanity cement that claim pretty clearly.

People describe Carter warmly, even today. But it’s not just hyperbole — the man has the credentials to back it up.

Let’s take a look back at this beloved civil servant. He was born in 1924 in Plains, Georgia, where he still lives today. He worked his way up the ranks from state senator to Georgia governor to president in 1977. His humanitarian work started in earnest after he left the White House.

He founded a nonprofit called the Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn Carter, to “prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.”

In 2002, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his promotion of social and economic development. As long as his body was able, he built houses for Habitat for Humanity. He was a shining example of what a leader can do when they’re not interested in helping themselves and truly believe social change is possible with good acts.

In 2015, he was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of dangerous cancer that spread to his brain. He’s been in hospice since February of 2023 but he’s still holding on like a champ. Why? He told his grandson very plainly: “I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris.”


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Jon Silman
Jon Silman
Jon Silman is a stand-up comic and hard-nosed newspaper reporter (wait, that was the old me). Now he mostly writes about Brie Larson and how the MCU is nose diving faster than that 'Black Adam' movie did. He has a Zelda tattoo (well, Link) and an insatiable love of the show 'Below Deck.'