Jimmy Carter Is the Un-Trump
Jimmy Carter Is the Un-Trump by Jonathan Alter
In June of 2015, I was doing research at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta when I was assigned to cover Donald Trump’s announcement of his candidacy. After he rode down the Trump Tower escalator, I needed some relief and found it by returning to the library. For the next five years, I found that turning the pages of the Carter documents brushed away some of the Trump toxins.
As Carter celebrates his 100th birthday on Tuesday, we shouldn’t think of him as a saint. No politician is humble and self-effacing. But Carter is a global humanitarian icon, a moral exemplar and the ultimate un-Trump.
The two former presidents know each other only slightly. In the early 1980s, Carter traveled to Trump Tower and asked Trump to contribute to the Carter Center. Trump said he respected Carter’s “nerve and guts” in asking for $5 million but gave him nothing. After Trump was elected, Carter, at age 93, hoped Trump would dispatch him to North Korea and offered Trump advice on dealing with China. But Trump predictably began trashing Carter, who later concluded that Trump “was put into office through Russian efforts.”
The contrast could not be starker. Trump is corrupt, chaotic and vulgar; Carter is honest, disciplined and respectful. Trump is a physically big man who acts small; Carter is a physically small man who acts big. Trump appeals to the worst in us; Carter to the best in us.
Trump is a nationalist and an authoritarian. Carter is an internationalist and devoted to the promotion of democracy. Trump has told thousands of well-documented lies; Carter promised in his 1976 campaign not to lie to the American people and — despite plenty of exaggerations — never did.
Trump’s a grifter who is selling gold watches; Carter’s an uplifter who lives in a modest home in Plains, Ga. Trump thinks he’s really smart; Carter actually is. Trump is on wife No. 3 and was found liable for sexual assault; Carter was married for 77 years and lusted only in his heart.
Trump refused to release his tax returns; Carter originated the practice. Trump botched his handling of the Covid pandemic; Carter (with the help of his wife, Rosalynn) convinced most states to require vaccination before children can enter school and has spent his post-presidency eradicating diseases and otherwise advancing global health.
Even the superficial similarities don’t bear scrutiny. Both Trump and Carter used racial code words in the past. But while Trump ditched dog whistles in favor of rank racism, Carter compensated for his absence from the civil rights movement by beginning the effort to bring diversity to the federal government. Both have been criticized for cozying up to dictators. But while Trump does it because the strongmen flatter him and share their tips on autocratic rule, Carter met often with dictators to broker peace, free political prisoners and — in Nicaragua and Haiti — persuade them to do what Trump would not: peacefully transfer power.
Carter recently told his grandson that he wants to stay alive so he can vote for Kamala Harris. Let’s hope his core decency and moral courage can help light our way forward in a direction that would make him proud.
Jonathan Alter is the author of “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life.”
