Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100

He rejected a liberal “Anybody But Carter” movement led by California Gov. Jerry Brown and Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, and had closed the nomination in June. Aided by a colossal error by the Republican vice presidential nominee, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas – who dismissed the U.S.-led victories in World War I and World War II as “Democrat wars” – Carter defeated President Ford with 50.1% of the popular vote.

Carter struggled to project a modest image to a scandal-weary nation. He walked down Pennsylvania Avenue during his inaugural parade. He carried his own luggage on Air Force One. And there were his constant messages to Americans that he couldn’t solve the nation’s problems alone, often in low-key, sweater-wearing public appearances.

“Absolutely and completely at ease with death”

During his busy post-presidency, Carter wrote—a lot. He wrote more than two dozen books, some of them with his wife. And as always, his faith and humble roots remained his guides. He continued to teach Sunday school at his home church, Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, until the pandemic struck in early 2020, forcing him and his wife to forgo most public engagements.

Carter still participated in church activities via video despite the pandemic.

“When I finished my term as governor, I went back to Plains,” he told the congregation in August 2015. “When I finished my term as president, I went back to Plains, and now you see, no matter where “I’m looking forward to getting back home to Plains.”

Carter joined Donald Trump as the only living presidents not to attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021 due to the pandemic. It was the first inauguration that Carter had missed as a former president.

Trump expressed his condolences to the Carter family on Sunday afternoon and said he was “deeply grateful” to Carter for his work.

“The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a crucial time for our country, and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. “We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for that,” Trump wrote. “Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep her in their hearts and prayers.”

Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the Carters in Georgia in April 2021. “We sat there and talked about the old times,” Biden said afterwards.

Biden said in a statement Sunday afternoon that he and the first lady mourned the death of Carter, whom they called a “dear friend.”

“Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian. For six decades, we have had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But the extraordinary thing about Jimmy Carter is that millions of people across America and around the world who never met him also considered him a dear friend,” wrote Joe and Jill Biden.

Biden said he would order an official state funeral in Washington, DC

Former President Barack Obama remembered Carter in a post on Lady Michelle Obama, Carter embodied these values.

“Whenever I had the opportunity to spend time with President Carter, I realized that he professed more than just these values. He embodied her. And in doing so, he taught us all what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice and service. In his Nobel Prize speech, President Carter said: “God gives us the ability to choose.” We can choose to relieve suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.” He has made that choice again and again over his 100 years, and the world is a better place for it,” the Obamas said.

Former President George W. Bush also expressed his “sincere” condolences to the Carter family and former first lady Laura Bush.

“James Earl Carter Jr. was a man of deeply held convictions. He was loyal to his family, his community and his country. President Carter honored the office. And his efforts to leave a better world didn’t end with the presidency. “His work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center is an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations,” Bush wrote.

“We join our fellow citizens in thanking Jimmy Carter and praying for his family,” he added.

Habitat for Humanity issued its own statement mourning the death of the group’s longtime ally.

“President and Mrs. Carter began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity near their home in southwest Georgia more than 40 years ago and soon brought global attention to the need for adequate, affordable housing. We are grateful for the incredible impact the Carters have had on Habitat and on the families who have benefited from their shining example. The Carters put Habitat for Humanity on the map, and their legacy lives on in every family we serve around the world,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity.

When Carter celebrated his 100th birthday this October, his grandson Jason Carter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the former president said he wanted to wait until November to cast his vote for the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Adding her voice to the chorus of mourners, Harris said in a statement Sunday night, “The world is a better place because of President Carter.”

“Jimmy Carter’s life is a testament to the power of service – as a lieutenant in the United States Navy, as the 76th Governor of Georgia, and as the 39th President of the United States. “He reminded our nation and the world that decency means strength and compassion,” Harris said.

In 2015, Carter was diagnosed with melanoma, a malignant form of skin cancer that had spread to his liver and brain. He underwent experimental treatment with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda, and a few months later he announced that doctors had stopped his treatments after finding no signs of tumors.

Carter spent much of the second half of 2019, just before the pandemic hit, in the hospital for brain surgery, infections and two falls that resulted in a hip and pelvic fracture.

Two weeks after breaking his pelvis, he returned to teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church. At the time, he told the congregation that he had been “completely and completely at peace with death” since doctors told him in 2015 that the cancer had spread to his brain.