A weeklong series of tributes to former President Jimmy Carter will conclude Thursday with a solemn state funeral in Washington, bringing together all five of the nation’s living presidents to temporarily bid farewell to one of their own. Will put down their partisan swords.
Mr Carter, who has been at the Capitol for the past two days, will be brought to Washington National Cathedral for a 10 a.m. service with all the rituals of a national farewell. Then he was sent to his hometown, Plains, Ga. He will be taken back to Washington, D.C., where he will be buried outside the simple ranch home where he lived most of his life and died last week.
The service represents the pinnacle of America’s respect for its 39th president, who presided over a tumultuous time from 1977 to 1981 as he tried to heal the nation after the trauma of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War.
Here’s what:
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Eulogies from two Presidents: President Biden will deliver a eulogy, and former President Gerald R. Ford and former Vice President Walter F. Eulogies written by Mondale before his death will be read by his sons, Steven Ford and Ted Mondale. Mr. Carter defeated Mr. Ford in the 1976 election but they later became friends, while Mr. Mondale was his close associate for four years in the White House. Jason Carter, the former president’s grandson, and Stuart E. Eisenstat, Mr. Carter’s longtime friend and White House domestic adviser, will also deliver eulogies.
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Five living presidents: In addition to Mr. Biden, former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as President-elect Donald J. Trump is also expected to attend, making the funeral the first gathering of the so-called Presidents Club. Since Mr Trump’s election victory in November. The same group is expected to gather again for his inauguration just 11 days later. Mr Trump would be an oddity among presidents who see him as a dangerous force and in some cases have harshly condemned him. Even Mr. Bush, the only other Republican in the group, has written off voting for Mr. Trump rather than for other candidates.
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Day of mourning: Mr Biden, who may be the closest living president to Mr Carter, has declared Thursday a national day of mourning and closed the federal government to all essential functions, while flags flew at half-mast.
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Going home: Mr. Carter’s coffin will be flown from the cathedral to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for his final flight on the presidential jet used as Air Force One. After a final private service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where Mr. Carter taught Sunday school in the 90s, a convoy with the casket will make the final journey through Plains to Carter’s home. Navy jets will conduct a flyover in missing person formation and then Mr. Carter will be buried in a family plot next to his wife, Rosalynn Carter, 77, who died in late 2023.