James Carter reflects on grandfather President Jimmy Carter’s upcoming hundredth birthday

Published 8:03 pm Wednesday, October 2, 2024

James Carter, President Jimmy Carter’s grandson, gave an interview on his grandfather’s upcoming 100th birthday. He talked about how the family felt nearing such an enormous milestone. “Our entire lives growing up he has been the healthiest and the most energetic of all of us, and his, the pace that he kept with events and stuff up until just the last few years was incredible, so while we are all amazed because of the recent history, I mean, over the course of his, and our lives with him, it’s not that shocking that he. . . has lived so long. But yeah, we are definitely looked forward to it.”

President Carter has previously stated that he wants to live long enough to vote in the next election. When asked why, James Carter replied; “He just really feels that. . . that it’s important to have someone in the presidency who respects the office. I think that’s something that many of the former presidents and families of former presidents can agree on that the office itself is something that needs to be respected, and so for him, it’s important to vote for the person who will respect the office.”

When asked if there were any special memories of his grandfather he would like to recall, James Carter talked about trips they had shared as a family. “My favorite when I was 11, we went on a multi-country tour of Africa and we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro as part of that, and that’s always been my favorite of all, of our all of our vacations. That was really amazing.”

He told how the trip was to visit leaders to obtain permission for the Carter Center to come and do health work, including guinea worm eradication. James Carter shared how at that age, he didn’t think of it as more than a trip, but realized the significance later. “When I was with that one of my grandfathers, that’s just what we did. We went and met presidents and things.”

When asked what President Carter’s thoughts were on nearing a hundred, James Carter spoke of a conversation President Carter had with his father several years ago. “He was talking about wanting to make to be 100, just to make it to 100, but then more recently when he got very ill, he actually told my dad that he didn’t think he would make it, so I think he’s kind of surprised.”

James Carter shared the family’s reactions to President Carter nearing his 100th birthday. “It’s just amazing. It’s an incredible milestone and we’re all thrilled by it.”

He described growing up with President Carter as his grandfather. “He was just my grandfather, and I loved him.” He talked about how he was respected for his moral stance as well as his gravitas. “When we were together, he was always like, you know, someone you looked up to.”

James Carter summarized his relationship. “A great person to have as your grandfather, but also a great person in general. So it’s like the best grandfather, plus all the other stuff.”

While James Carter voiced respect for his grandfather, he mentioned that for a time, he wasn’t politically active. “When I was younger, I tried to stay away from it.”
He recounted memories of kids making fun of President Carter after losing re-election during the Reagan years. “I was never like a kid that got bullied or anything, I was usually pretty popular, but the one thing that. . . I would get picked on about in school is that.”

He stated that President Carter was able to keep his soul in his policies and actions, while continuing to be pragmatic. He gave a key decision as a specific example, telling how he put “human rights into the American foreign policy, which hadn’t been done before. That was never a consideration in policy, and it is now.”

Reflecting on his grandfather’s career inspired him to reconsider political involvement. “The more I learned, the more important I knew it was, and the more interested I was, and then it just came from there.”

Currently, Carter works in opposition research. “I dig up dirt on people, which isn’t like the most moral of jobs, but I do have very high standards for the people that I work for. I don’t work for people who won’t let me do a research book on them, also, because there are some people that, like, just want the dirt on the other people and don’t want to look at themselves, so that’s kind of a red line for me.”

He shared some final words on his grandfather’s legacy. “He’s always thinking of others, that all of his work has gone into helping those who had less than what he had, and he’s continued that throughout his life, and that’s something that. . . should be done, whether in his honor or just because it’s the right thing to do.”