NATIONAL NEWS

Former President Jimmy Carter Celebrates 95th Birthday

Oct 1, 2019, 7:16 AM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:01 pm

Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)...

Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

(Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter is celebrating his 95th birthday, becoming the first U.S. president to reach that milestone as he continues his humanitarian work and occasionally wades back into politics and policy debates almost four decades after leaving office.

Carter, who served from 1977-1981 and still lives in tiny Plains, Georgia, planned no public celebrations on Tuesday.

The 39th president, born in 1924 and raised during the Great Depression, has slowed physically in recent years, acknowledging recently that he has trouble walking after hip replacement surgery in May. But he remains active with programs at the post-presidency center he and Rosalynn Carter opened in Atlanta in 1982. He still teaches Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. The Carters plan to travel later this week to Nashville, Tennessee, where they will help build houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Carter survived a dire cancer diagnosis in 2015 and became the longest-lived U.S. president in history this spring, surpassing George H.W. Bush, who died in 2018. Rosalynn Carter, now 92, is among the longest-lived first ladies. The couple has been married 73 years.

In recent public appearances, the former president has sounded like a man still intent on securing his legacy, amplifying his criticisms of American military spending and war, blasting the proliferation of money in U.S. politics and urging action to combat the climate crisis. And he’s expressed particular pride that the U.S. engaged in no foreign wars during his tenure.

“I just want to keep the whole world at peace,” Carter said in September during his annual Carter Center report.

“We have been at war more than 226 years. We have been at peace for about 16 years,” he said of the U.S. since the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He asserted that every U.S. military conflict from the Korean War onward has been a war of “choice.”

“The United States is very deeply inclined to go to war,” Carter said, partly as “a mechanism by which we can implant American policies … in other countries.” A Naval Academy graduate and World War II veteran, Carter said presidents feed the cycle, in part because “we make a hero” out of wartime commanders-in-chief.

The Carter Center, which has focused mainly on public health, election monitoring and conflict resolution, has “never voiced an opinion publicly” on individual wars, Carter noted.

“This is primarily my fault,” the former president said, explaining that he wants the center to become a more forceful advocate on questions of war around the world, including “wars by the United States.” He said the Carter Center could engage in “constructive criticism of the United States government … without being partisan about it.”

An outspoken Christian, Carter sometimes frames his views on war in terms of his faith, noting that Jesus is referred to in the Bible as the “prince of peace.” But at the Carter Center in September and a day later in his town hall with Emory University freshmen, the former president emphasized economic consequences of war.

China, he noted, has “been at peace” since he normalized relations with Beijing in 1979. Since then, Carter said, the U.S. has spent trillions on military conflict, while China has invested similar amounts in high-speed rail, new college campuses and other infrastructure. He told Emory freshmen he’s not “favorably” comparing China’s human rights record, but rather emphasizing the costs of war.

Carter hasn’t backed anyone in the Democratic presidential primaries, even as some candidates call on the former president . But he says re-electing President Donald Trump would be “a disaster.”

He disclosed that he voted for Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, over the establishment favorite Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary. This time, Carter cautions Democrats not to go too far left, warning that an embrace of single-payer, government-run health insurance could cost the party votes among moderates and independents. That would seem to rule out Sanders and another progressive favorite, Elizabeth Warren.

But Carter said he would like to see a woman as president, and made a notable observation on age, saying he couldn’t have managed “the duties I experienced when I was president” when he was 80 years old . That could be seen to nix not only Sanders, at 78, but the more moderate former Vice President Joe Biden, who is 76. Warren is 70.

Two longshot candidates who apparently fit Carter’s stated priorities for the party are Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, a 37-year-old who was born after Carter’s presidency ended, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a moderate who is close to Carter’s vice president and fellow Minnesotan, Walter Mondale. Both have visited Carter since declaring their candidacies.

Carter has given no indication that he will endorse, making clear only that he’ll be “voting Democratic” in the general election.

While he matter-of-factly declares his intentions to vote next fall, Carter also talks with the realism of a nonagenarian, born when the world population was quarter of what it is today and the life expectancy of American males was 58 years.

He noted he’s often said he wanted to live long enough to announce the end of Guinea worm disease, a parasitic infection attributed to poor drinking water. There were 3.5 million cases in 21 countries in 1986, when the Carter Center began its eradication program. In 2018, there were 28 cases worldwide.

A year later, Carter expresses disappointment over an outbreak of the disease among dogs, with new human cases in Chad, Angola and Cameroon. Researchers from multiple universities, he said, are “trying to figure out what to do about it.”

Meanwhile, the former president told a rapt Carter Center audience that they might have heard his final annual report, because he plans to start devoting more time to his family.

“This may be our last conversation with you,” Carter said. “We may or may not have one next year.”

KSL 5 TV Live

National News

President Joe Biden speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2...

Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press

House Republicans invite President Biden to testify at public hearing as impeachment inquiry stalls

House Republicans have invited President Joe Biden to testify before Congress on their stalled monthslong impeachment inquiry.

5 hours ago

FILE - Eggs are displayed on store shelves at a local grocery store in Chandler, Ariz., Jan. 21, 20...

Dee-Ann Burrin, AP Business Writer

What’s keeping egg prices high for Easter? It’s not just inflation

Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as Easter and Passover approach.

7 hours ago

Kia has recalled 427,407 of its Telluride SUVs because they can roll away while in park....

Samantha Delouya, CNN

Kia recalls more than 400,000 Telluride SUVs that can move while in park

All Telluride vehicles made between 2020 and 2023 and certain 2024 models are affected by the recall.

7 hours ago

Consumers hunting for Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies this year can expect sticker shock...

John Towfighi, CNN

As cocoa prices soar this Easter, chocolatiers consider alternatives

Consumers hunting for Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies this year can expect sticker shock.

10 hours ago

Post reading "Wall Street"...

Stan Choe, AP Business Writer

Stock market today: Wall Street rises to more records to close out its latest winning month

The stock market has been on a nearly unstoppable run since late October, and the S&P 500 just capped its fifth straight winning month.

11 hours ago

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 03: Larry David, comedian, writer, actor, and television producer loo...

Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

Don’t bother Larry David with menial pleasantries. He’s not interested

Just like the version of himself that he plays on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” there are some things in life that Larry David can’t be bothered with.

12 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Women hold card for scanning key card to access Photocopier Security system concept...

Les Olson

Why Printer Security Should Be Top of Mind for Your Business

Connected printers have vulnerable endpoints that are an easy target for cyber thieves. Protect your business with these tips.

Modern chandelier hanging from a white slanted ceiling with windows in the backgruond...

Lighting Design

Light Up Your Home With These Top Lighting Trends for 2024

Check out the latest lighting design trends for 2024 and tips on how you can incorporate them into your home.

Technician woman fixing hardware of desktop computer. Close up....

PC Laptops

Tips for Hassle-Free Computer Repairs

Experiencing a glitch in your computer can be frustrating, but with these tips you can have your computer repaired without the stress.

Close up of finger on keyboard button with number 11 logo...

PC Laptops

7 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your Laptop to Windows 11

Explore the benefits of upgrading to Windows 11 for a smoother, more secure, and feature-packed computing experience.

Stylish room interior with beautiful Christmas tree and decorative fireplace...

Lighting Design

Create a Festive Home with Our Easy-to-Follow Holiday Prep Guide

Get ready for festive celebrations! Discover expert tips to prepare your home for the holidays, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for unforgettable moments.

Battery low message on mobile device screen. Internet and technology concept...

PC Laptops

9 Tips to Get More Power Out of Your Laptop Battery

Get more power out of your laptop battery and help it last longer by implementing some of these tips from our guide.

Former President Jimmy Carter Celebrates 95th Birthday