Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn spoke at an event at their namesake Carter Center in Atlanta on Tuesday, and though the event was supposed to be a “non-political meeting,” the former president didn’t shy away from taking a dig at President Donald Trump.
According to Carter, four more years of current President Donald Trump “would be a disaster” for the United States.
“Four more years of Trump”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported that Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who are 94 and 92, respectively, were providing an update to the crowd at the Carter Center about the center’s work and its future goals on Tuesday.
For his part, the former president listed several issues on which the center plans to focus, including ending wars and securing basic human rights for everyone around the globe, combating climate change and man-made global warming, and, apparently, offering up constructive criticism of the United States.
Mentioning the crowd of 2020 hopefuls vying for the Democrats’ nomination, Carter said if the candidates match the center’s goals in their policies, “I would probably vote for them. I don’t know who I will vote for, but I will vote for one of them.”
He went on to admit that he “voted for Bernie [Sanders] the last time.”
“But one of the major factors I have in my mind is who can beat Trump,” Carter said. “Because I think it would be a disaster to have four more years of Trump.”
“I think we need a new president”
For her part, the former first lady mostly discussed the work she is doing with a mental health task force to benefit Americans across the country, and mentioned how happy she remains in her marriage for the former president.
But even Rosalynn Carter got a little political at the purportedly “non-political meeting” when it came to race relations. While the former president said more understanding between Americans is necessary to address the problems, the former first lady seemed to point blame at the White House.
“I think we need a new president,” she said. “I am so disturbed about white power. [Trump] says he is not a racist and maybe he is not. But some of the things he says encourages racism.”
All of that said, if there was any one thing about President Trump that his predecessor would speak positively about, it’s Trump’s obvious and oft-expressed reluctance to get America unnecessarily embroiled in yet another foreign war.
“Which is something I like about him,” Carter said of Trump. “Don’t ask me what else I like.”