Political leaders in Washington will honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter with a funeral service at the National Cathedral this morning. Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at 100, was the nation's longest-living president.
Thursday's event marks the final public tribute to Carter, following additional funeral services and ceremonies since Saturday at the U.S. Capitol, the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta and his hometown of Plains, Ga. Following his national funeral service, the late president's remains will be transported back to Georgia for a private ceremony and burial in Plains.
The funeral at the National Cathedral is part of a national day of mourning, which President Biden declared in Carter's honor after his death.
Tune in 9:30 a.m. for NPR's live special coverage just ahead of the National Cathedral service. Watch here:
Biden was a longtime colleague of Carter and will deliver a eulogy during the service, according to a White House official.
In remarks after Carter's death, Biden called the late president a "dear friend" and praised his character, highlighting Carter's record as president and his more than four decades of humanitarian work after leaving the White House.
"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. "That's because Jimmy Carter lived a life measured not by words but by his deeds."
All four living former presidents are expected to be in attendance at Carter's funeral, including President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in less than two weeks. Trump recently criticized Carter's presidential record during a news conference, arguing that the late former president lost his 1980 reelection bid due to his decision to relinquish control of the Canal Zone in Panama.
"Nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal now because, you know, it's inappropriate, I guess," Trump said. "Because it's a bad part of the Carter legacy."
"He was a good man. I knew him a little bit, and he was a very fine person, but that was a big mistake," Trump added. On Wednesday evening, the president-elect and his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, paid their respects to Carter, who was lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda this week. Trump later told reporters he met with members of the Carter family earlier in the day.
The public was also able to pay tribute to the former president. While waiting in line outside the Capitol, Carter's supporters praised his long career in public life.
Mark Wentzell of Minneapolis, Minn., who traveled to the memorial with his daughter, told NPR that Carter was "a real role model for everyone."
"He was so sincere in everything he did," he said.
"I view him as a really good man, high moral values" Washington, D.C., resident Bruce Meredith said as he got in line. "He seriously was a public servant. He gave all he had to this country. And that's why I respect him so much."
Susan Prolman was just 11 years old when Carter ran for president, but she recalled fondly how he stayed in her family's home in New Hampshire during the 1976 primary.
"Instead of staying at hotels, they stayed at people's houses," she said. "It was very exciting."
Standing outside the Capitol, Prolman, who now lives in D.C., held up her handwritten 'Carter for President' poster that she made nearly 50 years ago. Under those words were small hand-drawn peanuts, a nod to his time as a peanut farmer.
"He was a truly kind man," she said. "He brought so much to this country."
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