Jimmy Carter funeral: Biden says Carter 'never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission'

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- All five living presidents were present to honor the late former President Jimmy Carter during his funeral service at the National Cathedral in Washington on Thursday morning.

Carter, the country's longest-living president, died on Dec. 29 at 100. It is the last public tribute to Carter before his body is returned to his hometown of Plains, Ga., in a private family ceremony. A joint services military honor guard carried Carter's casket out of the National Cathedral following the state procession.

He had lied in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and people paid their respects at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta beforehand. Carter's son, Chip Carter, addressed mourners last Saturday in Atlanta when the tributes began.

In his eulogy, President Joe Biden remembered visiting Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter at their home in Plains, Ga., in 2021. He and first lady Jill Biden spent hours in the home recounting memories from a nearly six-decades-long friendship. Biden described Carter as a man of strong character, driven by faith, who endeavored to lift others.

"We're keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America, is a story, in my view, from my perspective, of Jimmy Carter's life. The story of a man, to state the obvious, you've heard today, some great, great eulogies, who came from a house without running water, nor electricity, and rose as a pinnacle of power," Biden said. "It's the story of a man who was at once driven and devoted to making real the words of his savior and the ideals of this nation. It's the story of a man who never let the tides of politics divert him from his mission. The man had character."

Josh Carter, grandson to the late former president, was the first to eulogize Jimmy Carter during Thursday's state funeral. He told of his grandfather leading Sunday school "every Sunday from World War II to COVID." One of the prevailing themes of his lessons was the growing disparity between the rich and the poor.

"Many of the people my grandfather helped lived on less than a $1 a day," Josh Carter said. "He built houses for people who needed homes. He eliminated diseases in forgotten places. He waged peace anywhere in the world that he saw the chance. He always said he did it for one simple reason. He worshipped the Prince of Peace and he commanded it."

Ted Mondale, former Minnesota state senator and son of Carter's Vice President Walter Mondale, read the eulogy his father wrote for his former running mate. Walter Mondale died in 2021. The eulogy reflected on their work together while in office and their friendship that extended until his death.

Walter Mondale wrote that Carter put important issues like climate change, income disparity and gender inequality ahead of his political interests.

"In many ways he laid the foundation for future presidents to come to grips with climate change," Ted Mondale read. "Some thought he was crazy to fight so hard to pass these laws. But he was dead right and we know that now. And we also know President Carter elevated human rights to the top of his agenda. He appointed five-times as many women to the federal bench as all of the previous presidents from the beginning of our country."

Carter's adviser on domestic affairs, Stuart Eizenstat, said the time has come to lay to rest the notion that Carter's greatest works took place after his presidency.

"The test of American presidents is not the number of years they serve but the duration of their accomplishments," he said.

Grandson Jason Carter, chairman of the board at the Carter Center, joked that his grandfather was the first millennial because his deregulation policies brought cheap flights and the creation of craft beer.

Jason Carter described how humbly Jimmy and Rosalynn lived, in a house that looked like it could have been built by them. The home was much like any other grandparents' home, as he described, with a refrigerator covered in photos of grandchildren as were the walls throughout. They hung Ziplock bags to dry and reuse and had a corded phone as most had transitioned to cellphones.

"In my 49 years I've never perceived a difference between his public face and his private one," he said. "He was the same person no matter who he was with and where he was. He had the courage and strength to stick to his principles even when they were politically unpopular."

Biden, whose political relationship with Carter dates back to the 1970s, shared more comments on Carter prior to his eulogy.

"What I find extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people all around the world, all over the world, feel they lost a friend, as well, even though they never met him," Biden said in previous comments. That's because Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words but by deeds."

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are in attendance as is President-elect Donald Trump.

The national service for Carter lasted about two hours. Carter will next be taken to a Joint Base in Andrews, Md. From there, Carter will be flown to Lawson Army Airfield in Fort Moore, Ga.

He will then be taken to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for a private service and the Carter residence for his interment. The U.S. Navy will conduct a missing man formation flyover in honor of Carter's Naval service.