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Inside Politics
Soon: Carter Motorcade Departs For Joint Base Andrews. Aired 12-12:30p ET
Aired January 09, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
PEOPLE: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
REV. ANTHONY LOWDEN, JIMMY CARTER'S PERSONAL PASTOR: For our brother, James, let us pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, I am the resurrection, and I am life. Lord, you console Martha Mary in their distress, draw near to us who mourn for James and drive the tears of those who weep.
PEOPLE: Hear us, Lord.
REV. LOWDEN: You weep at the grave of Lazarus, your friend. Comfort us in our sorrow.
PEOPLE: Hear us, Lord.
REV. LOWDEN: You raise the dead to life, give to our brother eternal life.
PEOPLE: Hear us, Lord.
REV. LOWDEN: You promised paradise to the thief who repented, bring our brother to joys of heaven.
PEOPLE: Hear us, Lord.
REV. LOWDEN: Our brother was washed in baptism and anointed with the Holy Spirit. Give him fellowship with all your saints.
PEOPLE: Hear us, Lord.
REV. LOWDEN: The Lord, comfort us in our sorrows at the death of our brother. Let our faith be our constellation and eternal life our hope.
PEOPLE: Hear us, Lord.
RT. REV. MARIANN EDGAR BUDDE, EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF WASHINGTON: Father of all we pray to you, for James and for all those whom we love but see no longer, grant to them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them, may his soul and the souls of all the departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
PEOPLE: Amen.
VERY REV. RANDOLPH MARSHALL HOLLERITH, DEAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL: Give rest, Oh Christ, to your servant, with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.
REV. BUDDE: You only are immortal, the creator and maker of humankind, and we are mortal, formed of the earth. And to earth shall we return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying you are dust, and to dust, you shall return. All of us go down to the dust. Yet even at the grave, we make our song, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
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PEOPLE: Give rest, Oh Christ to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.
MOST. REV. SEAN ROWE, PRESIDING BISHOP AND PRIMATE, THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Into your hands, O merciful savior, we commend your servant, James. Acknowledge we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming, receive him into the arms of your mercy and to the blessed rest of everlasting peace and into the glorious company of the saints in light.
PEOPLE: Amen.
REV. ROWE: The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
PEOPLE: Amen.
REV. BUDDE: Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
PEOPLE: Thanks be to God.
(PLAYING HYMN)
[12:10:00]
(PLAYING HYMN)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: All right, a very moving funeral -- stay funeral for President Jimmy Carter. We just saw President Biden greeting Prince Edward and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. We saw former President Bush shaking hands with president-elect Trump. There is Vice President Mike Pence and Vice President Al Gore.
Interesting moment that Pence told Gore that when he decided to follow the constitution and preside over the awarding of the electoral votes to Joe Biden, back in January 2021 it was Al Gore who he took some inspiration from. Al Gore who presided over the accounting of the electoral votes in his own defeat, despite many members of the House objecting, and Gore said to him, that means more to me than you can know.
And Nina McBride, one of the things that's so remarkable about this is the presence of first families. And you told me just a minute ago that there are individuals there dating back to the family of President Franklin Roosevelt. Right?
ANITA MCBRIDE, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO LAURA BUSH: Right, exactly. One of the granddaughters of Franklin Roosevelt, along with representatives of every presidential family from that point forward are together in that moment of national significance.
But they were also together this morning at the White House and the Bidens had invited the Carter family and presidential families to be together before going on to the church. And particularly for the Carter family to see President Carter's portrait draped in black, which is a tradition and a really wonderful moment for the White House to honor and occupant that live there.
TAPPER: And Jamie, we heard from the President Carter's grandson, Jason Carter, which was a human and loving address, and also one where he spoke as a member of a presidential family, thanking all the other presidential families for being there.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: He is a remarkable speaker. It was poignant. It was moving. He brought his own family to tears. You could see them react, but he also made people laugh. He was self- deprecating when he talked about his grandfather's house in Plains being very humble and modest. He said it looked like a house he might have built himself, referring to his work at habitat humanity.
[12:15:00]
He also talked about how when his grandfather would answer the door. He might show up in 70s style, short shorts and crocs, and that going back to being a depression era kid that next to the sink, his grandparents had a rack where they would dry and then reuse zip lock bags. So, he really gave just an incredible personal portrait that both celebrated his life, honored him, but gave that personal touch.
TAPPER: And we also heard Abby Phillip from former congressman Carter administration, Ambassador to the United Nations, and Reverend Andrew Young. I think he's 91 years old.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: 92, almost 93 years old.
TAPPER: 92 years old, apologies. And giving a seemingly extemporaneous speech about his experience with President Carter, and also something of a history lesson on the civil rights movement during that era.
PHILLIP: I thought it was really remarkable. We were sitting here, watching him, he was delivering a homily, but then delivered a speech about this man that he says he's known for 50 years. What's so interesting about Andy Young, first of all is that they are both men from Georgia. And he talks so movingly about how extraordinary it was for him to even conceptualize a person, anyone from Plains, Georgia, an almost backward of Georgia being elected president of the United States. But even more remarkable Plains, Georgia is a place where he described Jimmy Carter as being among the minority, black people were the majority in that part of Georgia.
You know, one thing to note about Jimmy Carter is that -- and Andy Young is that -- Andy Young was essentially fired from the Carter administration. And he was fired in a way, because of pressure, because he had an unauthorized conversation with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, but Jimmy Carter was regretful about that.
He had chosen Andy Young because of his ties to the civil rights movement. Jimmy Carter never met MLK Jr. who was also a Georgian but spent so much of the rest of his life doubling down on the principles of the civil rights movement, expanding it into a human rights movement. We talk about human rights because Jimmy Carter made it so, because he made it part of American foreign policy.
So, it's extraordinary to hear from this man who is -- was not quite as old as Jimmy Carter but is -- in his advanced years and was able to take us back to this era that Jimmy Carter tried to close. In his inaugural address, he said, the time for racial discrimination is over. It's really -- it was the end of that era. Thankfully, the beginning of the end of that era for this country.
TAPPER: And Dana Bash, we also heard from President Biden, of course, I think he has 11 days left as president. It is an interesting book, and for his presidency that he's giving the eulogy as president for the very first presidential candidate he endorsed as a U.S. senator.
Joe Biden, elected to the Senate in 1972. He endorsed Jimmy Carter with some risk. Jimmy Carter was not the leading candidate when he did so. And he said Jimmy Carter's friendship taught me, and through his life, taught me that strength of character is more than title or power that we hold it to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And the fact that you have an 82-year-old president, talking about his own endorsement in 1972 really speaks to the endurance and the length of both of their careers. And it makes me think of this line that I will never forget from Stuart Eizenstat, who also spoke here. And he was a longtime aide from Georgia and then into the White House to Jimmy Carter.
And what Ambassador Eizenstat said was, it's not the number of years they served, but the duration of their accomplishments, speaking of presidents. And so here you have Jimmy Carter being eulogized, being celebrated, even though he was a one term president, he obviously had so many years, a half a century afterwards of accomplishments.
[12:20:00]
And standing there in that beautiful cathedral were five presidents, four of whom did get two terms, one the one who eulogized him, Joe Biden was just defeated for his second term. And yet, he can certainly claim as he alluded to with the fact that he has known Jimmy Carter since the early 70s, that he has a duration in years of accomplishments.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Reminded in this age we live in today, where we rush to judgment, where we are supposed to post immediately in the second of the value of time in history and context. When Jimmy Carter left office, the political rap on him in this town was that he was weak, right because of the hostage crisis or because of the energy crisis.
I think we heard a lot today about an incredibly strong person of dignity and character. The proverb is that you judge a man by the company he keeps in Washington. Much was made that he was not a fond member of the President's Club, that he didn't like to hang around with those who came after him.
Well, listen to who we did hear from today. His family, just remarkable, and how it was so much important, much more important for him to be with Plains, Georgia. All the work he did for poor and disenfranchised people in this country and around the world. Stuart Eizenstat, one of the icons of public service and what public service is supposed to be.
And then Reverend Young, as Abby noted, himself a civil rights pioneer, and someone who was a confidant of Dr. King at an incredibly important time in American life, in American history, world history, you could argue the civil rights movement and the example it set. And so, if you judge a man by the company he keeps, then President Carter should be and will be judged quite well.
TAPPER: Our friend and colleague, Wolf Blitzer was inside the National Cathedral for the service. Wolf, you just came out. Tell us what you saw and heard, what it was like in?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER: You know, I've been fortunate enough to attend several funerals of prominent individuals here at the Cathedral. This was one of the most moving, if not the most moving, it was so well organized. It was so beautiful. The eulogies, all the speakers were really powerful, really moving, really excellent.
And what they did was they separated the eulogies, the speakers with music and prayer. And it was just, I could sense in the room. And there were at least a thousand people who were gathered inside the Washington -- this cathedral here in Washington.
There were at least thousand people there inside, and everyone was so silent during the speaking. They were so moved by the prayers. They were so moved by the singing and the choruses and all the music. And I was moved as well. And it was just a wonderful tribute to Jimmy Carter. And I must say, it was beautifully done. And I was so impressed.
Let me get Kaitlan and Kasie into this conversation. I'm sure you were as well.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I wonder what you thought of Jason Carter's eulogy for his grandfather because I just love what you said. You know, I'm the sound -- southern grandparents, and we see them coming out now, just over our shoulders, saying --
BLITZER: Let's listen in for a minute as they moved the coffin.
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[12:25:00]
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BLITZER: And now the motorcade will leave the Washington National Cathedral and eventually head back to Joint Base Andrews, just outside of Washington, D.C., for the journey back to Georgia, to Atlanta, and Plains, Georgia, where Jimmy Carter will be buried.
COLLINS: And they just played Hail to the Chief, Wolf, a song that Jimmy Carter famously did not like and did not allow to be played when he first took the White House. And then finally, aides convinced him, you know, no, the American people like this. They like this part of the presidency and the majesty that comes with it, in that sense.
But he was just such a man of the people from his walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. As they closed that final door that he didn't like it to be played. He did later change on that. But Wolf, you know, hearing from Jason Carter talking about, you know, his southern grandpa and letting zip lock bags, drive by the refrigerator.
But it was the words of Gerald Ford that I thought were so amazing to hear. I mean, he wrote that eulogy. He passed away 18 years ago. And so, to hear his words read by his son, Steven Ford, was just -- it was really something.
BLITZER: It was really moving. I know you're going to be speaking to Steven Ford at some point and getting his thoughts, and I'm looking forward to that as well. Kasie, when you saw this really moving funeral unfold, what was going through your mind?
KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yeah, Wolf. You know, for Jimmy Carter and for Joe Biden, in many ways, this is something of a generational conclusion to the way politics used to be done here in this country. And just even when you reflected on what it was like to have all of the current living presidents together, it really in many ways underscored that because there are realities around those relationships that haven't existed in the recent -- in American history.
For example, the greeting of Mike Pence by Donald Trump, the first time those two men have been in the same room since, of course, what happened on January 6, 2021, when there were supporters of Donald Trump's who were urging the killing of Mike Pence. We've never seen a dynamic like that then play out in public in a personal way. And I was struck by President Biden, talking about the character of Jimmy Carter. You know, I think his character is something that a lot of Americans, even if perhaps you didn't think his presidency went very well, or you disagreed with him. Policy wise, his character was very much on display, especially during the decades of his post presidency and became something that was so widely admired.
And to hear President Biden really talk about that, considering how the character of others who are now on the public stage is often talked about viewed by others. I thought that that was a remarkable very generous to Carter, but a sharp contrast that says something about our politics today.
BLITZER: And I thought Stuart Eizenstat, who was the chief domestic policy adviser to Carter when he was president of the United States, was really powerful because he made the point that a lot of people nowadays say, well, Jimmy Carter was really a great ex-president. Did amazing things as a former president, but his four years in office really didn't do much. And I thought that Stuart Eizenstat had made some really excellent points. He did so create some really important things in his presidency and Stuart referred to that.
COLLINS: Yeah. And he defended their record, and said, talk about the duration of that and how he's changed the presidency. And listed off a lot of that that maybe a lot of people don't remember because you do talk -- people talk about the Iran hostage crisis or inflation, or the other measures that marked his presidency.
And he spent that time talking about those moments that also defined that Carter presidency have still shaped it, because after we heard from Gerald Ford's words from his son, we also heard Walter Mondale as well. And Jimmy Carter fundamentally reshaped not only Walter Mondale's vice presidency.
But for J.D. Vance, sitting in there, it's going to be like for him in the next four years. He'll have an office in the West Wing. That's because of Jimmy Carter and that relationship between presidents and vice presidents, speaking of Trump and Vice President Pence, just that entire dynamic and Obama and Biden shifted because
