Donald Trump once referred to Jimmy Carter as a “nice man” but characterized him as a “terrible president.”
In 2019, the president-elect was aligning himself with a prevailing narrative regarding Carter, which emerged after Carter transformed the notion of post-presidency through his Nobel Prize-winning efforts in global humanitarianism, peace initiatives, and the promotion of democracy.
While there is some truth to various caricatures, the accolades for Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 on Sunday, often highlighted his accomplishments after leaving the White House rather than his challenging tenure in the Oval Office.
However, this perspective, particularly endorsed by Republicans who viewed Carter’s presidency as a symbol of national decline, overlooks the significant contributions of the Georgia Democrat that have influenced the contemporary world.
Carter's energy policies, along with his deregulation of the airline and trucking sectors, have had a more profound and lasting influence than one might expect from his relatively brief tenure in office. While Ronald Reagan is often credited with the victory in the Cold War, it was Carter who made significant strategic investments in advanced weaponry, thereby positioning his successor advantageously and demonstrating to the Soviet Union that it could not ultimately succeed. Prior to Reagan's confrontation with the "Evil Empire," Carter exhibited a frequently overlooked determination by orchestrating a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Carter's extensive experience on the international stage, along with his enduring achievements in regions such as the Middle East, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere, offers valuable insights and highlights potential opportunities for his 21st-century successors, beginning with Trump in his second term.
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