Joe Biden requested to deliver Jimmy Carter’s eulogy by former president

President Joe Biden has revealed that he has been asked to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, who is currently being cared for at his home in south Georgia. The current President has known the 39th president since he was a young Delaware senator backing Carter's 1976 presidential campaign, and he mentioned his recent visit to see him at a fundraising event in California. "He asked me to do his eulogy," said Biden before catching himself and changing his tone. "Excuse me, I shouldn't say that."

On February 18th, former President Jimmy Carter, who is now 98 years old and the longest-lived US President ever, announced that he would be receiving end-of-life care in his home, declining further medical intervention following his series of short hospital stays. While the Carter Center and Carter's family has not released any detailed information regarding his condition, President Biden alluded to the former president's 2015 cancer diagnosis and subsequent recovery during a visit to Rancho Sante Fe, California. He commented, "I spent time with Jimmy Carter and it's finally caught up with him, but they found a way to keep him going for a lot longer than they anticipated because they found a breakthrough".

President Joe Biden, 80, and First Lady Jill Biden paid a visit to former President Jimmy Carter, 95, and his wife, Rosalynn, at their home in Plains, Georgia, some months after Biden assumed office in 2021. It was Biden who, during the 76's presidential race, was the first senator to offer Carter his endorsement, going against the lineup of other Washington elites, who were surprised when he emerged victorious during the Democratic nomination.

Biden's presidency marks a significant shift for the standing of Carter in politics. In 1980, he had only served one term and was defeated by Ronald Reagan in a landslide, which made the senior Democrats hold off engaging him publicly until years after he left the White House.

Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were not particularly close with Carter. However, this changed in the 2020 election cycle, when Democratic politicians began to visit Carter in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Now with Biden in office, it is clear that Carter has a genuine connection with the Oval Office.

The Carter Center, a global humanitarian organization, as well as Carter's advocacy of democracy, have been gaining recognition, which in turn has made Democratic politicians more interested in visiting him. Even before Biden's election, there were longshot presidential candidates who were sometimes visiting Plains in private.

Confirmations from some members of the Carter family have revealed that the former president's funeral will be held in Washington, D.C., with a state funeral accompanied by a private burial in Plains. It is customary for former and current presidents to give speeches at the state funerals of their predecessors; for instance, in 1994, Clinton delivered a eulogy during Nixon's funeral, and in 2007, Carter honored Ford despite their past political rivalry. Similarly, when George H.W. Bush passed away in 2018, although President Trump attended, the only ex-president to give a speech at Washington National Cathedral was George W. Bush.