The official funeral ceremony for the late US President concluded Jimmy Carter At the Washington National Cathedral, on Thursday, thus ending the memorial ceremony that lasted six days, in the presence of figures from previous and current US administrations, led by US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.
Carter’s coffin was transported to Andrews Military Base in Maryland, to continue its journey to his final resting place in Georgia, where he will be buried next to his wife, Rosalynn, who accompanied him for 77 years.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush attended the ceremony alongside Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who visited the Rotunda Hall in the Capitol building on Wednesday to bid farewell to Carter, according to CBS News.
Trump and Obama chatted continuously before the funeral ceremony began, and Obama nodded seriously in response to Trump before smiling.
The US President delivered a eulogy during the ceremony, in which he praised “Carter’s character and faith,” and said that “the life and legacy of the late president can be summed up in one word: character.”
Biden explained that he understood from Carter that “the strength of character goes beyond just titles, or the power that we possess,” adding: “It is the strength that gives us the ability to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, and that every person, and by that I mean everyone, deserves equal opportunities.” .
Biden noted that Carter began his life in a home without running water or electricity, but “reached the pinnacle of power.”
Besides highlighting Carter’s “character,” Biden also noted that Carter “had a deep Christian faith in God, which he spoke about and wrote about during his campaign.”
Biden said: “Our nation’s journey is a pure journey of faith aimed at becoming the country we aspire to be, the country we declare to be…a nation in which we were all created equal…and we deserve to be treated fairly throughout our lives.”
Biden added: “He (Carter) showed us what it means to be a doer of good deeds, and a good and loyal servant to God and the people,” noting that Carter’s work and legacy are sometimes misunderstood, and “many believe that he belongs to a bygone era, but he was looking to the future.” “.
Biden said that he misses Carter, but he finds solace in knowing that Carter has now reunited with the love of his life (his wife), Rosalynn, and concluded his speech by saying: “Jimmy Carter acted justly, loved mercy, and walked humbly… May he attain eternal rest and spiritual elevation.”
Reverend Andrew Young, the US ambassador to the United Nations during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, also praised the late president’s “strong mind and gentle heart.”
“Jimmy Carter, to me, was a miracle,” Young said. “I was born in the South a few years after he was born, and it was always a place full of miracles. I couldn’t see how we could have these differences in backgrounds, come from such different places.” On planet Earth, there are diverse colors, beliefs, and national origins, and yet we became the great nation that we are in the United States of America. That was a miracle.”
He added: “I have known President Carter for more than half my life… and I have never stopped being amazed, and I have never stopped being inspired by the small actions, love and compassion that he shared with us every day of his life… It was President Carter who symbolized to me the greatness of United States of America.
Jimmy Carter’s funeral
Jason Carter, grandson of the late President Jimmy Carter, jokingly described his grandfather as “the first millennial” after citing many of his progressive stances.
Jason Carter said: “As governor of the state of Georgia, half a century ago, he was heralding the end of racial discrimination and the end of mass incarceration… And when he was president in the 1970s, as you heard, he protected more land than any other president in history… And fifty years ago, he was a warrior.” For the climate, he pushed for a world in which we conserve energy, reduce emissions, and replace our dependence on fossil fuels with renewable energy sources.”
On Thursday, the Washington National Cathedral witnessed the official funeral ceremony for former US President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on December 29 at the age of 100.
The period of the thirty-ninth president of the United States was marked by the deterioration of the economic situation of the United States and the crisis of American hostages in Iran, but his popularity increased greatly after he left the White House.
Over the past two days, tens of thousands of Americans visited the lobby of the Capitol building to bid farewell to Carter, who served as president between 1977 and 1981 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his humanitarian work.
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