All five living US presidents expected to come together to mourn Jimmy Carter
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Biden set to lead tributes at funeral service but cameras likely to be trained on Trump. Americans are hoping for a rare moment of political unity this week when all five living presidents – including Donald Trump – are expected to come together to mourn Jimmy Carter, who died last Sunday aged 100.
Joe Biden is set to lead the tributes at a funeral service on Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral. He let slip last year that Carter had asked him to give a eulogy (“Excuse me, I shouldn’t say that,” the president admitted). Biden may be forced to confront uncomfortable parallels with his own political fate. Hurt by inflation and failure to secure the release of hostages in the Middle East, Carter was rebuked by the public and served only one term. However, he was often dubbed the “nation’s greatest former president” for his humanitarian work.
But cameras are likely to be trained on Trump, who will be just 11 days away from his inauguration as president. Although the 78-year-old is notorious for trampling on norms, and for trashing his predecessors, he paid warm tribute to Carter and accepted the invitation to attend.
Sarah Purcell, a historian at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, said: “It shows maybe there is at least some desire in Trump to hew to the example of what a president or former president should act like. Maybe there is some line beyond which he will not go: he’s not going to refuse to attend Jimmy Carter’s funeral; he’s not going to stand up and start yelling at Biden during the funeral.”.
