President Biden said former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday, “lived a life measured by his actions, not his words.”
In a speech Sunday night in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Biden added that Carter was “not just a man of our time, but of forever.”
“And his compassion and moral clarity inspired people, changed lives and saved lives around the world,” Biden said. “Jimmy Carter is an example of simple civility.”
Biden praised Carter's long history of service to the country, including service in the Navy, as governor and state senator in his home state of Georgia, and as the nation's 39th president.th president.
In his 10-minute speech, Biden said he had known Carter for decades and considered him a friend and confidant.
“When I endorsed him for president, I told him it wasn't just about his policies, it was because of his character,” Biden said.
“His life was dedicated to others,” Biden said, fighting disease, building peace, advancing civil and human rights, promoting free and fair elections around the world, and housing the homeless. He listed his own efforts, including construction. His own hands.
The outgoing president spoke of how loss, particularly cancer, had brought his family closer to the Carter family over the years.
“What I find extraordinary is that millions of people around the world feel the same loss of a friend, even if they've never met him,” Biden said. Ta.
Asked if there were any lessons President-elect Trump could learn from Carter, Biden said, “Courtesy, courtesy, courtesy,” and that Carter often ignores people in need or belittles them because of their appearance. He added that never happened.
“We can all be a little more like Jimmy Carter,” Biden said.
