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Carter Family and Motorcade Arrive at the Carter Center; Jimmy Carter Remembered At Tribute Service In Atlanta. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 04, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:32]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Present.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Present.

(BAND PLAYS "HAIL TO THE CHIEF")

(BAND PLAYS "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL")

[16:06:13]

(PERFORMANCE OF "ETERNAL FATHER, STRONG TO SAVE" BY MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GLEE CLUB)

[16:10:06]

JASON CARTER, GRANSON OF PRESIDENT CARTER AND CHAIR, THE CARTER CENTER BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Good afternoon. We'll have many chances this week to pay tribute to my grandfather. But it was important for all of us that we stop here.

These buildings, as you all know, are filled with his life. Not just because this is a museum to his life, and not just because there's a collection here of his beloved paintings, but his spirit fills this place. And the real reason that this spirit fills this place is because of the people who are standing here.

The people in this room from the library and the museum and the Carter Center itself, you all are the real keepers of my grandparent's legacy. Jimmy Carter Library and Museum holds the historical legacy, tells my grandparents' story, which is really this unbelievable American story. And you hold it and you present it for my kids and for their kids and for all of those other generations to come.

And to the people at the Carter Center, you continue the vibrant, living legacy of what is my grandfather's life's work, really. You know this. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was president of the United States. And when he won that prize, it was in no small part, as you know, because of the work that this organization has done and continues to do.

We will spend this week celebrating this incredible life and a life that I think we can all agree is as full and powerful as any life can be. As someone said, it's amazing what you can cram into 100 years. (LAUGHTER)

JASON CARTER: But as we celebrate that legacy, I want you to know that in many ways we're talking about the work that you do every day. Many of you have devoted decades to his legacy. You've been his partners. You've worked alongside world leaders and the village heroes far beyond the end of the road that are the other people who carry out that legacy, who are not in the room today, but who all of us in this room know so well and respect so much.

Your expertise, your track record will continue to drive a world where people can participate in free and fair and credible elections. A world where the rule of law and human rights are respected and enjoyed not just by some people, but by everyone. A world where kids don't go blind from preventable diseases like trachoma, where there's no such thing as guinea worm disease or river blindness, and where we've strengthened health systems far beyond the end of the road, across some of the most marginalized places in the world.

That is the work that gets done in this place, in these buildings. And one of the amazing parts of my grandparents' legacy is the strength of this organization and its ability to continue their work without their physical presence.

All of us have been thinking about this day and planning for it for a long time, but it is obviously still hard for all of us. For us and my family, and I'm sure I can see on your faces, for many of you, I appreciate that. But just know that while we mourn my grandfather's passing, I know in my heart, and you all do, that his legacy will live on not only because of the millions of people that he touched across the globe, but very specifically because of your spirit and your knowledge and the work and the track record that you do every day.

So for us, on behalf of my family, to the people in this room and to your colleagues and our colleagues across the world that work with the Carter Center, thank you for what you have done for him, for what you've done for my grandmother, and for what you continue to do for the world.

Thank you so much.

TONY LOWDEN, JIMMY AND ROSALYNN CARTER'S PERSONAL PASTOR: Today is Saturday, and usually every Saturday I'm making a pilgrimage down to Plains, Georgia, and sitting beside President Carter in a compound, and you walk in the room, he's wrapped in a blanket that has Psalms 23 on it, one of his favorite Psalms.

[16:15:14]

"The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I lack. He lets me lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides quiet waters. He renews my life. He leads me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even when I go through the darkest valleys, I fear no danger for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live."

If you can just use your spiritual imagination for almost two years, our friend, number 39, President Carter, Pop-Pop, Dad, wrapped in a blanket that says Psalms 23.

JAMES EARL "CHIP" CARTER III, SON OF PRESIDENT CARTER: Man, that motorcade. There was a lot of love on the side of the road. Every overpass had people on it. It was amazing and gave you goosebumps just to sit in the band, and see the reaction of the people of Georgia.

It's so good to be here in the Carter Center. The circle of the life of our family for the last years. I'm so proud of Jason for accepting to be our family member on the board, and we're trusting him with my father's legacy now, so there's no pressure but --

(LAUGHTER)

JAMES CARTER: Dad's aspirations and mom's dreams have been fulfilled in a large part by the people here and by what he did as president and governor.

I want to tell you a little bit about him as a human being. When my brothers and I were 10 years old, we were hired by Carter's Warehouse to put seals, tags on the top of seed peanut bags. They did 100-pound bags of burlap and the federal government would get a ticket that said what the germination was and the foreign material. And then you climb on top of the bags and you put those tickets on 100 bags. We got paid a dime a 100.

But if the little husk on the peanut, the pink thing on the little outside of it is cracked, the peanut will not come up. So it's a perfect job for 10-year-olds.

(LAUGHTER)

JAMES CARTER: And we learned, we begin to learn there the value of hard work, the value of trusting your neighbors. Most of the people that worked at the warehouse were African-American. Our neighbors, the closest one to us were African-American, and they're the ones I spent my Saturdays with. They were my age. We had a wonderful snow sled we brought with us from Connecticut when we came back and we carved a trail down the side of the canyon, across the street from our house, and then we cut a vine off.

So if you could go down this thing and when you got to the bottom, if you actually grabbed the vine, you could swing out over the briers and come back without getting hurt. And then you could use the rope to crawl up to the top and then pull the sled behind you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is on mud.

JAMES CARTER: On mud. Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

JAMES CARTER: When I was in the eighth grade, I failed. I brought home at Christmas an F in Latin. I didn't see any reason to learn Latin. Nobody I knew spoke it very much. My father was not pleased. And so the next morning he came into my room and said, we were on Christmas vacation. He said, you have your Latin book? I said, yes, he said, let me have it. He went to work at Carter's Warehouse, and when he came home that night, we spent an hour and a half him teaching me Latin that he had learned from my book that day.

(LAUGHTER)

[16:20:02]

JAMES CARTER: He did that every day of Christmas vacation, and the first day of the school year after Christmas, I went to my teacher and asked her if she'd let me take the final over again that she had given us, the midterm test, and she said yes. So after school that day, I took that test and I made 100. I owed it to my father, who spent that kind of time with me.

He was a Boy Scout leader in our town. One day we were trying to get our merit badges in hiking, and so we took a six-mile hike to our pond in one of the farms, about 20 of us in the Boy Scouts. We had a great time. We had hot dogs and marshmallows and whatever, and had the big fire going. And at the end of all that, Dad started telling ghost stories. And one particularly bad one at the end was very gross.

He claimed it happened on our farm, and so he told us to all go to bed, but we were in -- just sitting there not knowing what to do. And after a little while we decided that we would use the buddy system to go into the woods to use the bathroom after dark so that we could all get some relief before we went to sleep because we were sure that we were going to be attacked when we got there.

I want to thank all of you here, as Jason said, because Dad's legacy from Georgia and his governor's office and from the presidency was a little bit rough at the end of it because of our opposition in the way they framed us, which was probably somewhat true and somewhat not. But all this stuff after that, it's in the hands of the people that worked here and that still work here now.

I see many people here that I don't recognize, and I welcome you to come. I welcome you to spend your time doing the kind of things that my parents loved to do and loved for us to do, and I need to thank some other people, too. The hospice folks that looked after my father for 22 months were amazing. Every week we got a report from them on how he was doing, what we could do to make him more comfortable, and it gave us a lot of confidence and it gave us the ability to think about him in a different kind of way.

And then we had caregivers. One of them is here in the audience. She was with my father for six years. They became my father's friends. They are the people that helped keep him alive and comfortable, and fed and cleaned, and doing all that kind of stuff that we didn't want to do. It was amazing what they did for us.

And another thing I'd like to say is I'd like to thank my family. You know, when you're president of the United States, you're thinking about your family, but you're not interacting with them very much. His job was so much more than doing family stuff, so we didn't lose touch. But you had to get an appointment in advance. And that giving up of that time and sharing that was something that affected our family because we didn't have our parents as much as we could have.

And I want to thank them for the sacrifice that they made and all that they gave. I was lucky, seven years ago, for the five years I went to see my parents, three nights, two days, a little plus every week for five years. I took over the farm from him. He liked that because he was able to boss me around every day.

(LAUGHTER)

JAMES CARTER: But I actually was able during that time to become friends with my parents, something I never expected, to be able to sit down and talk to them like human beings instead of the boss. It was an amazing thing for me, something I'll always cherish.

Then hospice came and my brother Jeff and my sister Amy and my bride Becky, and I split it up so I didn't have to go every week. I only went every fourth week, which was kind of amazing. But then for two weeks every month, Becky and I were apart and that was difficult for all of us. But he was an amazing man and he was held up and propped up and soothed by an amazing woman.

And the two of them together changed the world because it was an amazing thing to watch from so close and to be able to be involved in.

[16:25:09]

And I thank you for your service.

(PERFORMANCE OF "THE LORD'S PRAYER" BY MOREHOUSE COLLEGE GLEE CLUB)

[16:30:21]

BERNSTINE HOLLIS, LONGTIME FRIEND OF PRESIDENT CARTER &CARTER CENTER EMPLOYEE: Let us pray.

What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.

First Peter 5:7 reminds us that we can cast all of our cares upon thee, for he cares for us.

Oh, Holy and gracious Father, we come today, Lord God, thanking you for your amazing grace. We thank you, dear God, for all that you've done and all that you will continue to do through the lives of your people, Lord God.

So today, our Father, God in Heaven, we come thanking you for the man of God that you've placed here on earth, Lord God, who is an example to us, Lord God, as to what you have said in your word, Lord God, how we are to live, Lord God.

You allowed him, oh, God, to be the little Christ here on earth, Lord God, to give us the example of God as to how we should live and what we should do.

I am reminded in Matthew 25, verses 35 through 36, "When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I was a stranger, you took me in."

We thank you, Father God, for the man of God, Jimmy Carter. Lord God. We thank you. Oh, God, for him living a life, oh, God, that you placed in him, oh, God, to be the example for us, oh, God, in this nation.

We thank you, oh, God, for what you allowed him to do through this building, the Carter Center, oh, God, building hope, fighting diseases and waging peace, oh, God.

We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the humanitarian that he was in this life, oh, God. So our Father, God in Heaven, we thank you right now, oh Heavenly Father, for continuing to do what you have done, oh, God.

Help us to be the example, Lord God, yet here on earth to live a life as Jimmy Carter lived a life, Lord God. Holy spirit, we ask that you rest upon this family during these days of sadness, oh, God.

Father God, our hearts are heavy. But yet, Lord God, we rejoice in what we have seen through his life, oh, God. We celebrate his life today, oh, God, remembering, oh, God, how he helped so many, oh, God.

He saw no skin color, but yet extended a hand to help someone who was down and out. So, Father God, we thank you right now and we bless your Holy and righteous name.

We come boldly before the throne of grace today, Lord God, continuing to ask, oh, God, that you comfort and strengthen, oh, God, as only you can.

You said in your word, Father God, that you will not -- you will leave us, but you will not leave us without a comforter, that you would send the Holy spirit to comfort.

So, Father God, we ask right now in the name of Jesus, that you continue to comfort this family. Be with them throughout the days ahead, oh, God, as they are yet traveling, oh, God.

Comfort and strengthen them, oh, God, continue to allow them to bond together in unity and in love, oh, God, we ask in the name of Jesus, oh, God, that yet we be reminded of Joshua 1:6 to be encouraged and be strong.

During these times, oh, God, things can happen. Families can become apart. But Father God, we ask that you continue to bind them together in unity and in love, oh, God.

And Father God, I ask, oh, God, that the life that he lived, I challenge each of us to live the life as he lived. Let us be the example, Lord God here on earth, that others can see the love of Christ in us.

And as I end this prayer, Father God, I leave this prayer as a sentence from his book "Written faith."

"Our creator God, you are with us at any time and at any moment. You are here for each of us to give us guidance, to give us solace, and to give us forgiveness and or/to meet other personal needs."

We ask in the name of Jesus that you will receive this prayer, that you will continue to comfort this family. Be with them, oh, God, continuously, bind them together stronger in your word, oh, God.

Strengthen them, oh, God, to know that we have lost a great man, a blessed man. But we will continue to live the legacy that he left behind. The world will remember him, oh, God, for the mighty and the many things that he has done in this world.

So, Father God, we thank you, we bless you, and we give your name, the praise, the glory and the honor. And we say amen, amen.

[16:34:27]

CROWD: Amend.

(SINGING)

[16:42:26]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: A very, very powerful and very, very moving service that all of us certainly will appreciate. A great, a great tribute to the late president of the United States, Jimmy Carter.

We were all moved by -- by the words that Chip Carter, his son, spoke of his dad very, very personal, very strong, and certainly moved by his grandson, Jason Carter, what he had to say.

But the music was so powerful as well.

And, Victor, you're still with us. You're down there in Atlanta.

That Morehouse College Glee Club really came through today, and it was such a brilliant idea to bring them to perform at this memorial service.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And part of the plans for many years. You saw different generations there as part of the Glee Club, their final performance here, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," as they now pass to pay their respects to the former president.

We heard from the 282nd Army band out of Fort Jackson in South Carolina before the ceremony.

But yes, brief, emotional and powerful. We also heard that prayer from Bernstein Hollis, who has known the Carters for many decades, has worked at the Carter Center for many decades, and shared her prayer from a personal perspective of the man she knew.

The -- also who knew Rosalynn Carter as well, and their work. And, Wolf, what -- what really stood out to me was that if you

listened to this, with the exception of one reference by Chip Carter, they didn't talk about a president.

This was not the eulogy or memories about a man who served in office. They talked about their love for him, his love for them, the work he did. This was not about a man who was the commander-in-chief.

Jason Carter, who's also the chair of the board of trustees of the Carter Center, most of his remarks we're about the workers and the people who have worked on behalf of the priorities of the Carters and worked at the Carter Center.

His message was of gratitude for those who, he said, are the real keepers of the Carter's legacy.

So this was not about memorializing or eulogizing a former president. This was about saying goodbye and thank you to a man and thanking those who, over the years, have supported his vision.

[16:44:47]

BLITZER: And they certainly came through with the music, the words. And the entire moment was so powerful, so beautiful in memory of this late president of the United States.

Victor, so walk us through what happens next.

BLACKWELL: So what happens next, as we see the Guard of Honor posted around the catafalque where the former president will be until Tuesday morning, we're seeing some people who are now coming through to pay their respects.

We're told that at 7:00, this room -- this is the lobby of the Carter Center -- the chairs will be removed. And that's when the public, around the clock from 7:00 p.m. this evening until 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, will be able to come and pass by to pay their final respects.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is here with me.

And as we watch live here, people who have been bused in to say their goodbyes. What stood out to you from the ceremony we just watched?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's no question the people we are seeing saying their goodbyes now initially, are people who followed in the dream of the Carters and worked at the Carter Center.

And I was struck by what Chip Carter said. He said the two of them together changed the world. It was amazing thing to watch.

So truly, we are seeing, to a person there -- these are Carter Center employees and people who -- who loved and dedicated their lives to the Carters as well, from who had portfolios that spanned the globe, from democracy to humanitarian issues. And as you said, this was not a farewell to a president. That will

come next week in Washington. This was to Jimmy Carter, the man, the proud son of Georgia. And what a remarkable life he had.

In scripture and song, sending him off as they planned several decades ago. And the choir from Morehouse resonating there in the Carter Center was what he intended to send him off. And boy, did it.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ZELENY: I think listening to that, we all -- we all felt something. And it struck also by Psalms 23.

His pastor, Tony Louden, talking about when he would visit the former president, he was wrapped in a blanket. And you made the point that that blanket was one that he had over him when Rosalynn was taking her leave at her funeral as well.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ZELENY: So a remarkable tribute to a man that Georgia has never seen before and will not see the likes of again.

BLACKWELL: And as we're watching these employees, current and former of the Carter Center and those who advance the works and priorities of the Carters around the world, this is according to President Carters wishes.

Is that the attendees of this ceremony and the first people who were to come through and pay their respects as he lies in repose here at the Carter Center, would be those people who would come from around the world, who would be in -- in attendance as this is his final time here in Atlanta.

He'll be laid to rest at a private ceremony in -- in Plains later next week.

BLACKWELL: And --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: -- and so, Wolf, as we watch and this camera will be -- this camera will be live as we watch around the clock, people coming through to pay their final respects.

We know that there will be a time for the playing of "Hail to the Chief." There will be a time for discussion of the legislative accomplishments of the Carters.

But this was a personal moment to thank the people who worked with and for the Carters here in Georgia. Not post-presidency, but also before he went to Washington. And to highlight the things that he focused on and thought that would make the world a better place -- Wolf?

BLITZER: And now the coffin and Jimmy Carter will come to Washington, D.C. His body will lie in state up on Capitol Hill. People will be able to go there and pay their respects.

And then there will be a formal funeral service, a memorial service at the National Cathedral here in Washington before his body is sent back to Georgia for burial.

Stuart Eizenstat, you spent decades working with Jimmy Carter. You were his chief domestic policy adviser at the White House.

You saw that beautiful, very moving, powerful memorial service at the Carter Center right now. What was your reaction?

STUART EIZENSTAT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It was very meaningful that the Morehouse College Glee Club was the one that spoke.

And I want to make a bold statement. I don't think there is any modern white person in the 20th or 21st century who so embodied the understanding of black aspirations and black struggles as he.

He grew up in a county, Sumter County, that was 60 percent black. His playmates, but not his schoolmates because of segregation, we're black. He was virtually raised by a second family who was black.

[16:50:05]

And when I went with him on the campaign trail in 1976, and we would go into black churches in Newark and in Cleveland, and it came time for the chorus and those churches to sing, he was right up there singing with them.

I used to actually have tears in my eyes to think that these people had such a deep belief in God, even though they we're subject to such discrimination. He understood that.

And it's very interesting, Wolf, in the 1980s, with all the losses he had, and it was overwhelming, the one constituency that stayed with him was the black community, because they understood that he understood and incorporated their aspirations and their struggles.

BLITZER: And Tia Mitchell, I'm anxious to get your thoughts because a lot of our viewers probably don't know that Morehouse College is a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia. And it was deliberately chosen to deliver this kind of performance.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "ATLANTA-JOURNAL CONSTITUTION": And the Glee Club is world renowned for its music, musicianship, and it's a high quality.

I also was struck when I was watching the service. Meredith Evans, who's over the Carter Presidential Center and library, was there.

And a quick story about her. When she was four years old, she wrote to her then president, Jimmy Carter. She asked, could she have her birthday party at the White House? She put a dollar and one centers in the letter and mailed it off.

President Carter wrote back to her. He said, "I'm sorry you can't have your birthday party here," and gave her -- her money back. And that was so meaningful to her as a four year old.

Well, now she's the first black woman to lead a presidential library. She actually can pull that letter she wrote as a four year old out of the archives that are contained at the center.

And I saw her there at the services today. So it just goes to show you some of those full-circle moments that the Carter legacy presents for us.

BLITZER: Kate, what were you -- what was going through your mind as you we're watching this?

KATE ANDERSON BROWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it was very moving when Chip talked about how Rosalynn Carter was her husband's teammate and how she propped him up.

And in a way, it was -- it was fitting. It was a tribute to both of them and what they've built with the Carter Center.

And Mary Prince was also in the audience. She was in the second row, actually. And she was Amy Carters nanny. She was a black woman who was convicted of murder unfairly. She did not have a sound legal representation.

And the Carters brought her to watch their then toddler, Amy, in the governor's mansion, then brought her to the White House. Jimmy Carter became her parole officer. And Mary is still a huge part of the Carter family and legacy.

And I don't think there are many other presidents who would have a funeral with -- with the nanny of their daughter in the second row, a real place of honor.

BLITZER: And when they came to Washington after he was elected president, Amy Carter was a big deal. I remember it was a big deal because they sent her to public school instead of some sort of elite private school, right?

BROWER: Yes. Which was incredible that they did that. And, you know, she got some flack for what, reading a book, you know, when she wasn't supposed to be. I mean, these things that I think that we would look at now is really sweet.

I think they -- they had a very difficult four years in Washington. They were not part of the elite Washington establishment.

And what they've built since leaving the White House is so tremendously important. And their authenticity just really came through in that service.

BLITZER: Kai, what about you? What was -- what were you thinking?

KAI BIRD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, this whole service drenched in religiosity. Just reminds me that, you know, I think history is going to regard Jimmy Carter as a president way ahead of his time. A prophet. A prophet often in the wilderness on many issues. And I'm reminded specifically of what he gave as a -- it was a sermon.

It was a speech in July of 1979. And I urge everyone to look it up. It's an amazing speech.

It's the so-called Malaise Speech, in which he talks about, among other things, Americans' tendency to worship self-indulgence and consumption.

And this is very unlike -- unpresidential words. This is -- these are words from a sermon. And it's really -- he was railing in this speech against what he saw in America as a culture of narcissism.

And unfortunately, tragically, I think the speech is so very relevant today because our current leadership is drenched in narcissism. It's == it's just he -- so the message is extremely timely.

BLITZER: And it was so moving to hear Chip Carter and Jason Carter speak about their father, their grandfather in such personal moving ways. And I saw that up close when I used to go down to Plains, Georgia and spend some time with Jimmy Carter.

[16:55:04]

And even when he was in hospice care already, you know, he was still very much involved. He loved sports. He would, you know, interrupt me and say, "Let's go watch the Atlanta Braves baseball team." He was obsessed, like me. I'm a baseball fan, too.

And he loved rock and roll. He wanted to listen to that kind of music. And to hear his son and his grandson speak about the father, the grandpa, in such personal, emotional ways, I thought was very moving.

You know, in many ways, Wolf, he was as close to a renaissance man as we've had in the White House. He was a naval officer, a nuclear engineer, a painter, a woodworker, a poet and author.

There were so many aspects to his life. A fly fisherman and a music lover. He knew everything from classical to rock and roll and to country and western. And they were actually a big part of our campaign in 1976.

He told me once that he was able to listen to a classical music piece and know which particular violinist was playing it. He had a great ear for -- for music. So he was a man in full.

BLITZER: He certainly was an amazing man indeed. And I'm so, so thrilled that everyone is paying such special tribute to him down in Atlanta right now.

And he'll be heading to -- here to Washington in the next few days. And we'll continue that special, special journey with the late president of the United States.

To all of our viewers, thanks very much for joining us for our special coverage of President Jimmy Carter's funeral services in Georgia.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. You can catch me weekdays in the "SITUATION ROOM," 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

There's much more news ahead. CNN NEWSROOM with Jessica Dean starts right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)