Jimmy Carter celebrated his 100th birthday today – the first US president to reach the century mark and another extraordinary milestone for the one-time peanut farmer who found his way to the White House.
Carter’s longevity — she began hospice care at her home in Plains, Georgia, more than 19 months ago — has defied all expectations.
No longer regularly seen in public, the Democratic former president is spending his birthday at the home he and his late wife Rosalynn built on the Plains in the 1960s. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the ceremony included a lunch with about 20 members of his extended family.
President Joe Biden hailed Carter as a “dear friend” and “one of the most influential politicians” in American history in a video posted on his official X account.
He said, “Your unwavering faith in the power of human goodness remains a guiding light for us all.”
The White House lawn was decorated Tuesday with a sign that read, “Happy Birthday President Carter.”
Britain’s King Charles III sent a personal message of congratulations, expressing “his great admiration for the president’s lifetime of duty and public service,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
And Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who is currently overseeing a major hurricane disaster response, declared “Jimmy Carter Day” throughout the state.
small town
In addition to serving as Commander in Chief for one term from 1977 to 1981, Carter served as a global mediator, rights activist, and elder statesman, and received the prestigious American Diplomacy Award in 1982 for pursuing his vision of world diplomacy. Carter Center established.
His presidency included the 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, the establishment of diplomatic relations with China following rapprochement initiated by President Richard Nixon, and the return of control of the Panama Canal to Panama.
But his administration faced several setbacks, including the Iran hostage crisis and a renewed oil crisis in 1979–1980, which brought Ronald Reagan to power with a landslide victory.
“We’re thrilled that this small-town president is going to be the only president to live to be 100,” Jill Stuckey, superintendent of the National Park Service’s Jimmy Carter Historic Site and a longtime family friend, told AFP. “
He spoke from Plains High School, where Carter graduated in 1941 and which now serves as the visitor center for the national park, which includes sites from his early life, including a nearby peanut farm. Including where he grew up.
On Tuesday, the school held a naturalization ceremony for 100 new U.S. citizens, who placed their hands over their hearts and took the oath of allegiance.
“He did a lot for America,” said Adriana Vickers, 46, originally from Brazil.
“He’s for all countries,” Carlene Ford, another newly naturalized Jamaican citizen, told AFP. “He’s for everybody, he’s for the people.”
A flyover of four F-18 jets and two vintage aircraft graced the skies over the plains as part of the city’s celebrations.
‘always’ political
A devout Baptist and self-described “born again” Christian, Carter is remembered for a moral compass, but also for his decency, praised even by critics across the aisle.
According to the family, Carter has a strong interest in politics and was extremely motivated to reach 100 and vote for fellow Democrat Kamala Harris in the November election.
“He will be voting by mail-in ballot,” Stuckey told AFP, “He has always been very active politically, and nothing has changed in that regard.”
At the naturalization ceremony, which the mayor attended, attendees were encouraged to register to vote.
In the Plains, like many rural places with strong evangelical Christian leanings, far more yard signs support Republican Donald Trump than Harris.
But it’s also not unusual to see a sign celebrating Carter’s centennial next to one supporting Trump.
Carl Lowell, who has lived in the Plains since childhood, said he tries not to get involved in politics because it is “too divisive” right now.
Like most residents of the Plains, the 59-year-old retired firefighter is connected to the Carters in various ways — he says his grandfather helped build the Carters’ house and he himself once went dove hunting with them. .
He said, “Jimmy is a good person, he’s a godly person and that’s what people like about him.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
