Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Former President Jimmy Carter Dies at 100; President Carter's Achievements as the 39th President of the United States; World Leaders Sending Praise and Condolences; Former President Jimmy Carter Dead At 100; Grieving Families At Muan Airport Wait For Information. Aired 2- 3a ET

Aired December 30, 2024 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Paula Newton. We begin with reaction pouring in from around the world to the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The Carter Center says the 39th president was surrounded by family in Plains, Georgia when he died Sunday at the age of 100. He had been in home hospice care for nearly two years.

Jimmy Carter, known for his dignity and devotion to service, dedicated his life to fighting for human rights and brokering peace in many parts of the world. It was also a key message during his inaugural address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I believe America can be better. We can be even stronger than before. Our commitment to human rights must be absolute. Our laws fair, our natural beauty, preserved. The powerful must not persecute, the weak and human dignity must be enhanced. Our nation can be strong abroad only if it is strong at home. And we know that the best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The American flag is at this hour flying at half-staff at the White House where Jimmy Carter served from 1977 to 1981. President Joe Biden says the world has lost a remarkable leader, calling him a statesman, humanitarian, and a dear friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds. Just look at his life, his life's work. He worked to eradicate disease not just at home but around the world. He forged peace, advanced civil rights, human rights, promoted free and fair elections around the world. He built housing for the homeless with his own hands. And his compassion and moral clarity lifted people up and changed lives and saved lives all over the globe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Our Wolf Blitzer looks back at the incredible life and legacy of America's 39th president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARTER: We just want the truth again.

WOLF (voice-over): Jimmy Carter was elected president barely two years after the law breaking and cover-ups of the Watergate scandal forced President Richard Nixon to resign. His candor seemed like a breath of fresh air.

CARTER: There's a fear that our best years are behind us. But I say to you that our nation's best is still ahead.

WOLF (voice-over): James Earl Carter was born on October 1st, 1924. His father ran an agricultural supply store in Plains, Georgia. His mother was a nurse. He was smart enough and tough enough to receive an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. Just after graduation in 1946, he married Rosalynn Smith.

His naval career took him from battleships to the new nuclear submarine program, but when his father died in 1953, he left the military and returned to Georgia where he spent the next two decades running the family peanut farm business and slowly and steadily beginning a political career that saw him elected governor of Georgia in 1970.

JODY POWELL, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: To use an old 1950s term, if there ever was a classic example of an inter-directed man, you know, Jimmy Carter's it.

WOLF (voice-over): His close friend and associate was press secretary Jody Powell, who died in 2009.

POWELL: He enjoyed people, and he enjoyed talking to people. I think he enjoyed those early days of campaigns when there was much more personal interaction with the voters than he did the latter stages when it was a series of set piece speeches and large crowds.

CARTER: My name is Jimmy Carter and I'm running for president.

[02:04:58]

WOLF (voice-over): In 1976, the former Georgia governor went from being Jimmy who to the White House. Not everyone in Washington was happy to see him.

TOM OLIPHANT, THE BOSTON GLOBE: Washington, even more than New York, is the snobbiest city in America. And Carter and the Georgians were treated like dirt, condescendingly and with hostility. If he had a fault, it was that he matched Washington's hostility with his own.

WOLF (voice-over): Early on, Carter was accused of presidential micromanaging of excessive attention to detail.

OLIPHANT: At his best. Jimmy Carter mastered a subject and then led, sometimes very effectively, because of his mastery of its details.

WOLF (voice-over): That mastery of details enabled Carter to negotiate the Camp David Peace Accords, a deal between Egypt and Israel that led to a peace treaty ending decades of war between their countries. His most difficult presidential days came after Iranian militants took dozens of Americans hostage in Tehran in late 1979.

They were held for 444 days, and eight U.S. servicemen died after President Carter ordered an elaborate rescue attempt that failed. The Iran hostage crisis was only one of the challenges that confronted President Carter.

CARTER: We must face the fact that the energy shortage is permanent.

WOLF (voice-over): During Carter's term, Americans endured a sharp, steady increase in oil and gasoline prices which forced everything to cost more. To some, Carter's stark comments began to sound like moralizing.

CARTER: The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.

WOLF (voice-over): In 1980, Carter faced Republican challenger Ronald Reagan, who exuded sunny optimism and asked voters a simple question.

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

WOLF (voice-over): Jimmy Carter lost the election, but not his resolve to make a difference. He and Rosalynn founded the Carter Center in part to promote peace, democracy, human rights, as well as economic and social development all over the world.

Carter monitored elections for fairness. He went to North Korea and Cuba and met with leaders usually shunned by the U.S., including representatives of Hamas, the Palestinian organization, both the U.S. and Israel have branded as terrorists.

POWELL: This is a man who has a really unique commitment to public service. It really is a calling with him.

WOLF (voice-over): In autumn of 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the culmination of an incredible career as a world leader and as a citizen.

CARTER: I'm delighted and humbled and very grateful that the Nobel Peace Prize committee has given me this recognition.

WOLF (voice-over): He still wasn't done. Carter remained active into his 90s, traveling, writing books, building Habitat for Humanity homes and to the discomfort of his successors, speaking out on the issues of the day. He criticized Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, called George W. Bush's international policy quote, the worst in history.

(On camera): But from your definition, you believe the United States under this administration has used torture?

CARTER: I don't think it. I know it, certainly.

WOLF (voice-over): He also took on President Donald Trump.

STEPHEN COLBERT, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT HOST: Does America want kind of a jerk as president?

CARTER: Apparently, from this recent election, yes. I never knew it before.

WOLF (voice-over): Carter survived a cancer scare in 2015 and kept going.

CARTER: Didn't find any cancer at all, so.

WOLF (voice-over): When he attended George H.W. Bush's funeral in late 2018, he was the oldest of America's living presidents. He celebrated his own 100th birthday in 2024. His beloved wife, Rosalynn, passed away in 2023.

She'd been a steadfast partner through 77 years of marriage. Carter's diminished health prevented him from speaking at her memorial service, so their daughter, Amy, read a letter he wrote to Rosalynn while deployed with the Navy 75 years earlier.

AMY CARTER, JIMMY CARTER'S DAUGHTER: My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are. While I am away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be, as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Does that seem strange to you? It doesn't to me.

WOLF (voice-over): Husband, statesman, a connection to an era now gone, Jimmy Carter was a defender of values forever current.

CARTER: Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity, and who suffer for the sake of justice, they are the patriots of this cause.

[02:10:02]

I believe with all my heart that America must always stand for these basic human rights at home and abroad. That is both our history and our destiny.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, the exclusive club of former U.S. presidents paid tribute to Jimmy Carter, praising his character, dignity, and his service. Donald Trump said the challenges Carter faced as president came at a pivotal time for the U.S. and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans, adding for that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.

Barack Obama, said Jimmy Carter believed some things were more important than re-election, things like integrity, respect and compassion, and that he didn't just profess those values, he embodied them.

George W. Bush called him a man of deeply held convictions who dignified the office of the presidency, while Bill Clinton gave thanks for his long, good life.

Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and senior editor at "The Atlantic," and he joins us now from Los Angeles. It is quite the arc of history, both his life and just everything that he did in his capacity, both as president and then afterwards, to try and impact not just U.S. events but world events. Ron, when it comes right down to it, I know we had already discussed what he believed his legacy should be, and he said that was human rights and peace. And yet, do you think today he would say to himself, I succeeded in that?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, look, I mean, I think he was very intent on reimagining America's role in the world. after the tragedy of Vietnam and also the revelation in the mid-'70s, before he took office, of all the CIA scandals and abuses and toppling governments and assassinating foreign leaders. He was someone who believed that we had to kind of, you know, earn our respect around the world rather than demand it.

And he was certainly someone who believed that the greatest power the U.S. exerted on the global stage was the power of our example. I think in many ways his foreign policy was the exact polar opposite of Donald Trump. You know, Trump is transactional with both allies and adversaries and kind of believes it's a dog-eat-dog world, and you get your way through force and threatening. And Carter very much thought the power of our example was our greatest strength.

Now, obviously, like any president, he had to compromise on that at times. But I think he very much -- in the same way that he sought, Paula, to dismantle the imperial presidency at home, tried to dismantle the image of the U.S. as the arrogant superpower around the world.

NEWTON: Yeah, you know, the moral bearing of this man was beyond dispute. In fact, it's hard for any one of us to really fathom his life and the way he lived it with such humility and service. And yet, Ron, and yet, I ask you, politically, what is his relevance today to the Democratic Party going forward, but also just politics in the United States?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, it's interesting. I have always thought of Carter, and he was the first president I covered at all, I wrote about at all at the very end of his presidency. I always thought of Carter as a figure of cultural reconciliation in the U.S., you know, after the decade of the 60s, which really tore at the seams of American life in so many different ways. I mean, Carter was a figure who sought to cement and reintegrate, really, and diminish some of the divisions that we'd experienced.

I mean, he was a white southerner who supported civil rights. He was a devout Evangelical Christian who celebrated Bob Dylan and, you know, and the Allman Brothers. He was a military veteran who pardoned the Vietnam draft resisters. You know, he was someone who tried to bring us back together, and I think in many ways did succeed in kind of bridging some of those divides that Nixon had inflamed and sort of run against with his silent majority.

But as a political figure, I think he struggled much more. I mean, you know, Carter was there at the -- was at a maximum moment of unraveling of the Democratic coalition. Again, he was a very, a White Southerner at a time when White Southerners were beginning to move toward the Republican Party. And you saw kind of the paradox of his presidency, that much of his legislative agenda, many of the things he most wanted to do in Congress, were blocked by his fellow Southern Democrats who were conservative and thought he was too liberal.

And then, of course, in 1980 he got primaried from the left by Teddy Kennedy because they thought that he was too conservative.

[02:15:01]

He just had a hard time building a sustainable coalition for himself and his agenda, either within the Congress or within the country.

NEWTON: In terms of looking at his legacy and what you believe can be learned from it today, I mean, look, he went through some impossible situations. He was also a great risk taker both when he was president and afterwards. Is that the lesson learned here? I mean, in the United States, you think big and you go for it, even if, like President Carter, you know what's at risk here. You could also lose big.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. You know, he really was one of the darkest of dark horses when he ran for president as a one-term governor of Georgia. I think, you know, politically his legacy is relevant again, I think, to Democrats, because in some ways he was ahead of his time in recognizing that the evolution of the two-party coalitions required the Democrats to modernize and update its agenda.

In some ways, he previewed the mixture that Bill Clinton offered, you know, a dozen or so years later. He was more fiscally conservative than Democrats had been, even as in many ways he was more socially liberal and early environmentalist, early focus on appointing women to office. But I think the legacy of Carter, above all, is decency and, you know, goodness, really. And he created the modern post- presidential model of the idea that a president could be a citizen of the world and do good with, even after losing all those trappings of power.

I mean, before Carter, the typical model was the president kind of went back home to their hometown. You know, Harry Truman went to Independence. Dwight Eisenhower went to Gettysburg. Lyndon Johnson went to the ranch, you know, outside of Austin. They might write their memoirs, but they kind of faded from view. And Carter showed that it was possible to live an engaged life as a global citizen.

What is the title of Bill Clinton's new memoir? I mean, it's "Citizen." And that role for a president really didn't exist at anywhere near the extent that it did before Jimmy Carter. And I think in some ways that legacy will continue to live on long after he's gone, probably long after we're gone, in the expectations that most presidents have for what they should be doing after they leave office.

NEWTON: Yeah, absolutely. It is quite a postscript to his own life that he leaves politicians in general, but obviously especially presidents.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.

NEWTON: Ron Brownstein, none of this is complete without you staying up late with us this evening to give us your insights and we really appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

NEWTON: Now, our coverage of the former president's legacy continues right here on CNN. Ahead, what Jimmy Carter considered to be one of his greatest achievements.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: War may sometimes be a necessary evil, but no matter how necessary, it is always evil. Never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children. The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: That was former U.S. President Jimmy Carter accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter passed away Sunday at the age of 100. World leaders are offering condolences to the U.S. and the Carter family. French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the Nobel Peace Prize winner on social media stating, "Throughout his life, Jimmy Carter has been a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace. France sends its heartfelt thoughts to his family and the American people."

That sentiment was echoed by Great Britain's King Charles. He writes, "He was a committed public servant and devoted his life to promoting peace and human rights. His dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many."

Meanwhile, the Australian Prime Minister recognized Carter's service, posting that his legacy is, quote, "best measured in lives changed, saved, and uplifted." Now, think of Jimmy Carter's greatest accomplishments, and of course, the Camp David Accords are likely to be at the top of that list. But as Will Ripley explains, that's not necessarily how Carter himself saw things.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A smile and a handshake between two very different men who saw a common future. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and China's communist leader Deng Xiaoping both knew the fate of the world would one day hinge on relations between the U.S. and China. It was 1979. Washington established diplomatic ties with communist Beijing.

For a president who got a deal done between Egypt and Israel and struck a nuclear accord with the Soviet Union, Carter believed ending hostility with Beijing was among his greatest achievements.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: What are you most proud of?

CARTER: I helped promote peace with between other countries that were potentially at war. I reached out to long-term adversaries like China.

RIPLEY (voice-over): His decision came at a cost. The U.S. no longer officially recognizes Taiwan. U.S. troops pulled out. The island democracy of 24 million people now facing the growing threat of a possible Chinese attack.

(On camera): From Taiwan's perspective, that meant that it officially became a unrecognized state and that really is what put Taiwan in this very compromised position internationally.

(Voice-over): The U.S. maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan, regularly selling weapons to its military. China experiencing huge economic growth due in large part to its relationship with the U.S. Now, China is the world's second largest economy. But prosperity did not trigger political reform. Chinese leader Xi Jinping could potentially stay in power for life, with a military more powerful than ever. Bilateral relations dropping to the lowest level in years. Carter always maintained people-to-people ties will prevail.

CARTER: The best thing to do is to try to find some accommodation with China and to respect each other and to try to find ways to cooperate rather than to confront one another with the differences that do exist.

RIPLEY (voice-over): He made several trips to China after leaving office, warmly welcomed by top leaders.

[02:24:53]

The 39th President of the United States, proud of his legacy, normalizing ties with China, now seen by many as the most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century. Will Ripley, CNN, Taiwan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And in fact, we are now getting official reaction from Beijing. CNN correspondent Marc Stewart has been following all of this. I mean, obviously consequential what they're going to say given everything we just heard from Will Ripley.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Paula. Just about 20 minutes ago, we heard from a government spokeswoman about the passing of Jimmy Carter. It's interesting. It's not something she volunteered upfront. It came as a response to a question from a reporter from a global news organization.

Let me share with you the remarks from spokeswoman Mao Ning, saying just after 3:00 local time here in Beijing, "China expresses deep condolences on the passing of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Former President Carter was a key promoter and decision-maker in the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. He made significant contributions to the development of China- U.S. relations and the friendship between the two countries, which we highly appreciate."

This is a relationship that has seen many extremes, some high points and then some very, very significant low points. Yet it is a framework that remains from presidency to presidency and will likely be the guidepost as we move into the future. The word of President Carter's passing came just after 5:00 local time here in Beijing and it has been a topic that has been trending on social media. And it's interesting to see some of the remarks we are seeing there.

Let me share with you just a few of the posts that we have seen on Weibo, which is one of the top social media platforms. Among the responses that we have seen, someone saying, "Good old Carter, a U.S. president who truly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize." Another person saying, "Among all the living U.S. presidents, he is relatively friendly to China." And then another remark saying, "This is the last foreigner to appear in history textbooks."

Shortly after his death was announced, the Chinese state media organization, the news service known as Xinhua, which is very much a messenger service for the Chinese government, did also acknowledge his death and talked about this framework that was established. Paula, we are still waiting to hear a response. Perhaps we will not get a response. We are waiting to hear from Taiwan, which of course has this very precarious position in this U.S.-China relationship.

We also are hearing from the Japanese Prime Minister who expressed gratitude and acknowledged his admiration for President Carter, not only for his time in office, but what he has done -- he did after his presidency, very much his work as a diplomat, Paula.

NEWTON: Marc Stewart for us in Beijing, continuing to follow that reaction, appreciate it.

Now, the state of Georgia is remembering with pride the life of a famous son. More on how they're honoring former President Jimmy Carter's legacy after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:58] PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is being remembered for his dedication to public service. Carter passed away Sunday at the age of 100. The 39th president was in office from 1977 to 1981. He said he was determined to restore morality and truth to politics.

Carter is widely known for redefining a president's role after leaving the White House, along with his wife, Rosalynn. He worked to bring peace and hope to the world through the Carter Center, and made strides in the fight against poverty and homelessness by partnering with the charity Habitat for Humanity. The U.S. state of Georgia, meantime, is mourning and honoring its famous son, and his life and achievements are being looked on with pride.

CNN's Rafael Romo has more now from the Carter Center in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has already ordered that flags around the state be flown at half staff to honor the memory of Jimmy Carter. We have also heard from political leaders across the state praising the 39th president of the United States.

And here at the Carter Center, where we are, we have seen how many people, regular people, have come here to bring bouquets of flowers. They've also brought candles that they have lit right there behind me at the sign. And we also saw a gentleman that brought a jar of peanuts to honor the memory of the peanut farmer, who became the 39th president of the United States, and this institution behind me, the Carter Center, is very significant because after leaving the White House, he came back to Georgia and was able through this place to keep on working on some of the causes that were near and dear to his heart, including promoting democracy, fighting disease, and seeking international peace, causes that he took and worked on all over the world.

I was able to have a conversation with Craig Withers earlier. He is the vice president for operations here at the Carter Center, and when I asked him to describe how he is going to remember the 39th president of the United States, he said a couple of things. Number one, he said he lived a life well lived. And the second thing he said is that Jimmy Carter was a person who stuck to his principles, a very principled individual who always adhered to those principles.

We are also hearing from the senators, both senators here in Georgia. Jon Ossoff said, for example, that among his lifetime of service and countless accomplishments, President Carter will be remembered for his commitment to democracy and human rights, his enduring faith, his philanthropic leadership, and his deep love of family. We also heard from Senator Raphael Warnock, who called Carter one of his heroes. His leadership was driven by love, his life's project grounded in compassion and a commitment to human dignity. And, of course, President Carter was admired and respected around the world.

[02:35:04] But nothing really compares to the love and pride many people here in Georgia felt for the 39th president of the United States.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTN: Adriana Bosch is the writer and director of the PBS "American Experience" documentary on Jimmy Carter. And she joins us now from Miami, Florida.

And really good to have you here with your specific insights.

Given this man's incredible life, which is hard to fathom given all the stages that he went through in terms of his own personal and political growth, I do want to start with what its like to distill that kind of life. I mean, this documentary was more than two decades ago, and yet even then, his accomplishments -- his accomplishments both before and after the presidency, not to mention during his presidency, just extraordinary.

ADRIANA BOSCH, WRITER & DIRECTOR, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: JIMMY CARTER: Well, thank you for having me.

Yes, I think anything that you do that tries to encompass a lifetime runs the risk of getting diluted, but we managed to kind of hit on the highlights of Jimmy Carter and the actual exploration of the documentary is it came from the point of view of a failed presidency.

How does a man, so intelligent and so committed and so hardworking, does not get reelected president of the United States? What happens along the way that kind of puts an end to really a brilliant career?

Just, you know, from Georgia to the Navy, governor of Georgia, president of the United States, an unusual trajectory and such hope that was pinned on him in, in 1976, which was, you know, after the war in Vietnam, after Watergate and all that, here comes this fresh, this air -- this fresh air to American politics with so much promise. And yet he couldn't make it -- he couldn't make it to a second term. And that really was the exploration of the documentary.

NEWTON: And in looking through that, I was actually surprised that even a man with his moral bearing, with his faith, with confidence in his own intelligence and capability, he did really take it as quite a loss, didn't he?

BOSCH: He did. He was devastated. You know, I remember talking to his wife. I remember talking to Rosalynn. We -- I talked to him off camera. We were not supposed to interview presidents on camera for that series, the presidential series of "American Experience".

But I remember talking to Rosalynn, and he she said he was absolutely devastated. Even as he begins to contemplate his post-presidency and what to do about building a presidential library, he was very reluctant to do that, and he kept telling her that what was he going to build a monument to failure and how he didn't want to do that. And so he took it very, very hard.

NEWTON: It's extraordinary to think about that now, when you think of everything that the Carter Center, just for one of the organizations that he's inspired, everything that it means here in the United States and beyond.

Adriana, you have said if we talk about what he won and what he did, though, in terms of accomplishments, in your opinion, you believe those Middle East accords, those Camp David Accords hashed out, and so enduring today, right? The peace between Egypt and Israel. You believe that's one of his, you know, his most stunning accomplishments in his presidency?

BOSCH: Well, I think of his presidency. It is the most astonishing, you know, accomplishment. It also guided his post-presidency because when he's contemplated and I'll pick up on this story, building the Carter Center one night, he just bolts up in bed and says, I know what I'm going to do. I am going to build a center for peace and conflict resolution.

And so that is the inspiration for that was the -- you know, the peace accords, the Camp David Accords that were signed in 1979. And I remember never forget the scene in the documentary, which is available. It's a piece of archive where he's in front of Congress and he turns to Sadat and Begin, who are on each side of the president of Egypt and the president of Israel and the prime minister of Israel.

And he says to these two friends of mine, the words of Jesus, blessed be the peacemakers, for they will inherit the kingdom. And I always, you know, every time I see that, I choke up because it is such an emotional moment and such a deep moment for him who was raised on the Bible, who really is a deep Christian in a different sense.

[02:40:07]

He's a peacemaker. And that became the touchstone of his post- presidency. And that is the great accomplishment of his presidency.

NEWTON: Yeah, and even through that personal loss, he found a way to help it endure and continue to live on and accomplishments.

BOSCH: And he built -- just to use a Christian term, he built his church on that stone, you know, and that's what the Carter Center became, his great post-presidency.

NEWTON: It really an extraordinary life and that is just what one pivotal moment in it.

Adriana Bosch, we do have to leave it there, but we thank you for being with us.

BOSCH: Well, thank you so very much.

NEWTON: Okay. Just ahead for us here on CNN, desperate for news about their loved ones, some relatives of the 179 people killed in Sunday's South Korea plane crash are camping out in the airport where it happened. We will have the latest when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: And we have new information now on the Jeju Air Plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea on Sunday. Officials now say the pilot reported a bird strike in the minutes before crashing while landing. They say the pilot said "mayday, mayday, mayday" and used the terms bird strike and go round -- go around indicates that the pilot decided to delay landing.

South Korea's acting president is ordering an emergency safety inspection of the country's airline operations systems.

Now, right now, grieving families are waiting for more information and many are camped out at Muan airport, where Sunday's flight tragically crashed.

CNN's Mike Valerio is there and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we see all around us, this would normally be the departures hall for Muan International Airport, but instead of families who would be gathered here getting ready to go on vacations to celebrate the new year, instead it's replaced with this -- scores of families huddled together waiting for the latest information on when their family members could be positively identified by DNA.

[02:45:14]

Now, so many people have chosen to stay. They're not going anywhere. And that's seen evidenced by all of these tents that go from here pretty much to the end of the terminal. They go back three tents to the edge of the check in counters.

These are set up by the South Korean Red Cross. And this is where families are starting to live, beginning overnight. And you see food deliveries throughout the day.

Let's keep going this way, and the echoes of grief. People are people are choosing to stay here because this is where information comes first. It's not received online, but there are briefings about every half hour here in this terminal with the latest details on what is happening in the investigation and how long it could take for family members to get more and more answers.

So as we keep going, this will be the entrance to the terminal and you see kindness on full display. To my left, church groups serving coffee, fruit snacks, any kind of drinks for everybody who is deciding to congregate here. It is inspiring. It is quite moving and there are so many here who aren't quite prepared yet to tell their stories, at least to our cameras. They speak to us when were not recording, but their faces absolutely tell the story. Dark crescents under their eyes of a sleepless night, preparing for more sleepless nights and no telling on when so many people here are going to leave.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Muan, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Our coverage of the death of U.S. President Jimmy Carter continues with a look back at how the one term president made history in the Middle East, leaving behind an enduring legacy that went well beyond the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:50:35]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I've had a wonderful life. I've had thousands of friends and I've had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence. But now I feel, you know, that it's in the hands of God, whom I worship. So I'm ready for anything and looking forward to a new adventure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: That was former U.S. President Jimmy Carter speaking about his cancer diagnosis in 2015. Carter passed away Sunday at the age of 100.

CNN's Nic Robertson takes a look at the impact of Jimmy Carter's diplomatic efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARTER: I, Jimmy Carter, do solemnly swear.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Jimmy Carter's presidency lived in the shadow of America's Cold War with the Soviet Union, but he refused to be constrained by East/West, communist versus capitalist tensions.

CARTER: We expect that normalization will help to move us together toward a world of diversity and of peace.

ROBERTSON: He improved relations with China and tried for the same with the Soviets in his foreign policies. He pushed for nuclear nonproliferation, democratic values, and human rights. He cut off military supplies to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and dialed back support for other Latin American leaders in Nicaragua, Argentina and Brazil. One of his signature White House legacies was the Torrijos- Carter treaties that returned the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999.

He also calmed Mideast tensions, brought together Israeli and Arab leaders at Camp David, opening the door to the Israeli-Egypt Camp David accords. He normalized relations with China, weakened U.S. ties to Taiwan in a vain hope Beijing would weaken ties with Moscow. But after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, the

last year of his presidency, he toughened his Soviet stance, backed the Afghan mujahedeen in a war against the Red Army.

The same year, 1979, Islamic Revolution in neighboring Iran dealt Carter a double domestic blow, spiked oil prices, and led to a humiliating failed raid, Operation Eagle Claw, in April 1980, to rescue Americans captured by the theocratic revolutionaries in Tehran.

CARTER: I can't stand here tonight and say it doesn't hurt.

ROBERTSON: Events overseas contributed to his 1980 election loss.

CARTER: The people of the United States have made their choice. And, of course, I accept that decision.

ROBERTSON: But out of office and the limelight, his global peacemaking grew. In 1994, he was the first former U.S. president to visit North Korea, met Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of today's leader Kim Jong Un, at a time of U.S./North Korean tensions, won concessions on North Korea's nuclear program, dialing back tensions for a decade. But 1994 was his big year of high profile peacemaking.

In September, he went to Haiti, Raoul Cedras, the Caribbean nation's unpopular leader, was holed up in Port-au-Prince. Carter convinced him to step down quite literally, as the U.S. 82nd Airborne troops were inbound aboard Black Hawk helicopters ready to remove Cedras by force. Carter won the day. Save lives. The U.S. troops landed as de facto peacekeepers.

And later that year, Carter went to the dark heart of Bosnia's violent ethnic civil war, met the nationalist Serbs in their mountain stronghold, Pale, Paul tried to stop their bloody, murderous siege and shelling of the capital, Sarajevo, bring an end to the killing that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives during horrific ethnic cleansing. Success came slowly in steps. Carter helped initiate a short Christmas ceasefire and by his presence, push the horrific conflict toward greater international attention.

[02:55:07]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have work to do. We have to go back to it now. Thank you very much.

ROBERTSON: Less than a year later, another U.S. diplomat, Richard Holbrooke, parlayed Carter's brief calm into the war, ending Dayton peace accords.

1994 marked a peak in Carter's peacemaking, but far from the end of it. He helped found a group of seasoned international diplomats known as the elders, whose works span the Mideast and far beyond. He helped the charity Habitat for Humanity, change lives, building affordable homes, often showing up to help with construction himself.

In 2002, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development. It was a path he'd picked, a post-presidency with meaning, and he followed it right up to his death.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And in New York, a tribute for former President Jimmy Carter, one of the most iconic landmarks in the U.S., the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and blue on Sunday to honor his life and his legacy. Carter was the only former U.S. president to turn 100 years old.

Now, to put things into perspective, the Empire State Building opened on May 1st, 1931, just five months before Jimmy Carter's seventh birthday. Quite a tribute there.

I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Paula Newton. CNN NEWSROOM will continue with Max Foster in London after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)