Unearthed Letter Reveals Jimmy Carter's True Thoughts On Trump (& It's The Classiest Takedown Ever)

In February 2023, Jimmy Carter was placed in hospice. One of Carter's last wishes was reportedly to stay alive long enough to vote for Kamala Harris; he did so. Carter died on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. Carter was no fan of Trump, and Trump often made fun of and insulted Carter, only changing his tune (slightly) in 2019 after Carter sent him a positive letter about his negotiations with China and now in the wake of Carter's death.

Now, we have the contents of a 2017 letter from Carter to a student journalist. Brenton Blanchet shared a letter on X, formerly Twitter, that he sent to Carter via The Carter Center when he was a freshman at the University of Buffalo. The letter was not only passed on to him, but he wrote back. One of the questions he was asked was, "What are your thoughts on President Trump's administration?" To which Carter replied: "He is unprepared. I pray for him and for our nation."

Short and sweet, but with no doubt as to how little Carter thought of Trump. What stands out, though, is that Carter still seemed to be hoping for the best for both Trump and the country by noting that he was praying for them both. And coming from Carter, who was a devout Christian and lived out his faith in both words and actions, the sentiment seems genuine.

Another part of the letter from Jimmy Carter didn't directly address Donald Trump, but it still seemed to highlight one of the stark differences between the two men. Carter once vowed to the American people that he'd never lie to them. That was part of his advice in his letter to Brenton Blanchet. To anyone considering getting into politics, Carter thought they should "tell the truth and learn how to serve as many others as possible." Trump is known for not letting the truth get in his way when he talks; The Washington Post counted upwards of 30,000 "false or misleading claims" that Trump made during his first term.

That wasn't the only time that Carter shared his thoughts about the importance of truth to the office of the presidency. Carter was asked in a 2018 interview with "CBS This Morning" about Trump and his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels while he was married. Carter said, "I think most people want a president who they trust to tell the truth always and who has some basic moral values, including loyalty to his own wife." In May 2024, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts over falsified business records related to hush money payments to Daniels.