Jimmy Carter Had This To Say About Donald Trump's Presidency

At age 96, former President Jimmy Carter remains engaged in politics, frequently commenting on politicians and political issues. For example, in March 2021, he spoke out against efforts to tighten voting restrictions in Georgia (via NBC News), which recently went from a red state to a battleground state when President Joe Biden won its 16 Electoral College votes and two Democratic senators – Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff – were elected, per AP News. 

So it's no surprise that Carter, who was in office from 1977 to 1981, hasn't been shy when it comes to sharing his opinions about former president Donald Trump. In 2019, Carter addressed the legitimacy of the 2016 election saying that Trump's win was questionable. As reported by NPR, Carter was asked how he thinks America should handle Russia's role in the election and its outcome.

"Well, the president himself should condemn it, admit that it happened, which I think 16 [of the] intelligence agencies have already agreed to say," Carter responded. "And there's no doubt that the Russians did interfere in the election." 

Speaking further about the 2016 election, Carter continued by saying, "I think the interference although not yet quantified, if fully investigated would show that Trump didn't actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf."

In September 2019, Jimmy Carter spoke about looking to the future — specifically the 2020 election. As reported by CNN, he said that he hadn't yet decided who he would cast his ballot for in the Democratic primary (his primary vote went to Bernie Sanders in 2016), but his decision would largely be based on who he believed was the right candidate to defeat Donald Trump.

"One of the major factors I will have in my mind is who can beat Trump," Carter revealed. "I think it will be a disaster to have four more years of Trump."

As for Trump, he's described Carter as a "terrible president" and said he was "trashed by his own party," (via The Washington Post). There's certainly no love lost between the two, but interestingly it appears they had one civil conversation about America's relationship with China. As reported by The Daily Beast, Trump contacted Carter after the latter sent him a letter on the topic.

"He was very gracious and expressed his appreciation for my letter," Carter shared. "But the main purpose of his call was to say, frankly to me on a private line, that the Chinese were getting way ahead of the United States in many ways."