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CNN Live Event/Special
The State Funeral of President Jimmy Carter. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired January 09, 2025 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Leaders of the clergy, distinguished guests, most importantly, the Carter family, in April 2021, Jill and I visited Jimmy and Rosalynn on a warm spring day down in Plains, Georgia.
We wanted to see them. Rosalynn met us at the front door with her signature smile. Together, we entered a home that they had shared for almost 77 years of marriage, an unassuming red-brick ranch home. Reflects their modesty more than any trappings of power.
We walked into the living room, where Jimmy greeted us like family. That day, just the four of us sat in the living room and shared memories that spanned almost six decades, a deep friendship that started in 1974.
I was a 31-year-old senator, and I was the first senator outside of Georgia, maybe the first senator, to endorse his candidacy for president. It was an endorsement based on what I believe is Jimmy Carter's enduring attribute, character, character, character.
Because of that, character, I believe, is destiny, destiny in our lives, and quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. It's an accumulation of a million things built on character that leads to a good life and a decent country, life of purpose, life of meaning.
Now, how do we find that good life? What does it look like? What does it take to build character? Do the ends justify the means? Jimmy Carter's friendship taught me, and through his life taught me, that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold.
It's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect, that everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an even shot, not a guarantee, but just a shot.
[11:35:11]
We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up to what my dad used to say is the greatest sin of all, the abuse of power. Now, that's not about being perfect, because none of us are perfect. We're all fallible, but it's about asking ourselves, are we striving to do things, the right things? What value -- what are the values that animate our spirit? Do you
operate from fear or hope, ego or generosity? Do we show grace? Do we keep the faith when it's most tested? For keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America is a story in my view, from my perspective, of Jimmy Carter's life,the story of a man.
To state the obvious, you have heard today some great, great eulogies, who came from a house without running water or electricity, and rose to the pinnacle of power, the story of a man who was at once driven and devoted to making real the words of his savior and the ideals of this nation, the story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world.
The man had character. Jimmy held a deep Christian faith in God, and that his candidacy he spoke and wrote about, faith as the substance of things hoped for and evidence of the things not seen, faith founded on commandments of Scripture. Love the lord thy God with all heart and all thy mind and all thy soul and love thy neighbor thyself.
Easy to say, but very, very difficult to do. In his life -- in this life, any walk of faith can be difficult. It can be lonely, but it requires action to be the doers of the world.
But in that commandment lies the essence, in my view, found in the Gospel, found in many faith traditions, and found in the very idea of America, because the very journey of our nation is a walk of sheer faith to do the work, to be the country we say we are, to be the country we say we want to be, a nation where all are created equal in the image of God and deserved to be treated equally throughout our lives.
We have never fully lived up to that idea of America, but we have never walked away from it either because of patriots like Jimmy Carter.
Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people.
And, today, many think he was from a bygone era, but, in reality, he saw well into the future, a white Southern Baptist who led on civil rights, a decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace, a brilliant nuclear engineer who led on nuclear nonproliferation, a hardworking farmer who championed conservation and clean energy, and a president who redefined the relationship with a vice president.
Jimmy and I often talked about our dear friend Walter Mondale, whom we all miss very much. Together, they formed a model partnership of collaboration and trust, because both were men of character.
And, as we all know, Jimmy Carter also established a model post- presidency by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in America and, I might add, as you all know, around the world.
[11:40:16] Through it all, he showed us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flows to others. At our best, we share the better parts of ourselves, joy, solidarity, love, commitment, not for reward, but in reverence for an incredible gift of life we have all been granted to make every minute of our time here on Earth count.
That's the definition of a good life, a life Jimmy Carter lived during his 100 years.
To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose, study the power of Jimmy Carter's example.
I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again.
To the entire Carter family, thank you, and I mean this sincerely, for sharing them both with America and the world. We love you all.
Jill and I will cherish our visits with them, including that last one in their home. We saw Jimmy as he always was, at peace, with a life fully lived, a good life of purpose and meaning, of character, driven by destiny and filled with the power of faith, hope and love. Say it again, faith, hope and love.
As he returned to Plains, Georgia, for his final resting place, we can say goodbye in the words of the Prophet Micah, who Jimmy so admired until his final breath. Jimmy Carter did justly, loved mercy, walked humbly.
May God bless the great American and a dear friend and a good man. May he rise up, be raised up on eagle's wings, and bear you on the breath of dawn, and make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand.
God bless you, Jimmy Carter.
JAMES CARTER, GRANDSON OF JIMMY CARTER: A reading from the Gospel According to St. Matthew.
Now, when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
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"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven."
The word of the lord.
ANDREW YOUNG, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Ephesians, the fourth chapter of the 32nd verse: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Jimmy Carter, for me, was something of a miracle. I was born in the Deep South shortly -- a few years after him, and it was always a place of miracles. I couldn't see how we could have had the differences in background, the coming from different places on the planet, the experiences of slave and slave owner, the diversity of color and creed and national origin, and still become the great nation that we are in the United States of America.
It was something of a miracle. And I don't mean this with any disrespect, but it's still hard for me to understand how you could be -- get to be president from Plains, Georgia.
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YOUNG: I knew Plains from my pastorate in Thomasville, Georgia, about 60, 70 miles south of there. And I was even nervous driving through Plains. And Plains and Sumter County gave us one of the meanest experiences that we had in the civil rights movement, so much so that Martin Luther King said that the sheriff of Plains -- of Sumter County, he really thought, was the meanest man in the world.
[11:50:30]
And when I first met Jimmy Carter running for governor and said, the only thing I know about Plains and Sumter County is Fred Chappell, and he said: "Oh, yes, he's one of my good friends."
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YOUNG: And that was the last thing I wanted to hear.
(LAUGHTER)
YOUNG: And yet, time and time again, I saw in him the ability to achieve greatness by the diversity of his personality and his upbringing.
Dr. King used to say that greatness is characterized by antitheses strongly marked. You have got to have a tough mind and a tender heart. And that was Jimmy Carter. And he grew up in the tremendous diversity of the South and he embraced both sides.
He was a minority in Sumter County. Just about 20, 25 percent of the population was white. But growing up as a minority, he became the friend of the majority. And when he went to the Naval Academy, he asked that his roommate be the first black midshipman to come to Annapolis.
And he said: "I know minorities. I have been a minority most of my life and maybe I can help him in his adjustments."
And he went out of his way to embrace those of us who had grown up in all kinds of conflict. But that was the sensitivity, the spirituality that made James Earl Carter a truly great president. James Earl Carter was truly a child of God, not only a good farmer, but a nuclear physicist chosen by Admiral Rickover to assist him in developing a nuclear Navy.
But at the same time he was working on a nuclear Navy, he was thinking of peace on Earth and goodwill toward all men, and especially women and children.
I have known President Carter for more than half of my life, and I never cease to be surprised. I never cease to be enlightened. I never cease to be inspired by the little deeds of love and mercy that he shared with us every day of his life.
It was President James Earl Carter that, for me, symbolized the greatness of the United States of America, and I am truly grateful for him, because, in spite of the harshness of the Depression and the explosions of inflation, he never wavered for his -- from his commitment to God almighty and his love of all of God's children.
Jimmy Carter was a blessing that helped to create a great United States of America.
[11:55:02]
And, for all of us and many who are not able to be here, I want to say thank you. You have been a blessing from God. And your spirit will remain with us.
And, as Jason said, he may be gone, but he ain't gone far.
Thank you, President Carter, and thank you, almighty God.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
