Jimmy Carter named the person he wanted to deliver his eulogy years before his death at 100

PLAINS, GEORGIA: The late former President Jimmy Carter had reportedly named outgoing President Joe Biden as the person he wanted to deliver his eulogy years before his death on Sunday, December 29, at the age of 100.

Biden reportedly made the revelation a month after the 39th president entered hospice care at his longtime home in Plains, Georgia with his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November last year at the age of 96, as per The Daily Beast. 

Joe Biden disclosed Jimmy Carter asked him to deliver his eulogy

Speaking at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in California in March 2023, Joe Biden brought up the subject of his visit to Jimmy Carter's Georgia home after assuming office in 2021.

"He asked me to do his eulogy,” shared Biden, before stopping himself from elaborating, saying, "Excuse me, I shouldn’t say that.”

Biden, the oldest sitting president of the United States, and Carter, the longest-living president of the United States, went back a long way. Carter had known Biden since he was a young Delaware senator, as per the Associated Press.

Joe Biden's remarks on the death of Jimmy Carter

Following Jimmy Carter's death on Sunday, Joe Biden did not mention the proposed eulogy as he told reporters that he would be ordering a state funeral for the former president.

"I’ve been hanging out with Jimmy Carter for over 50 years, it dawned on me. He used to kid me about it, that I was the first national figure to endorse him in 1976 when he ran for president," he said. 

In their official statement, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden stated, "Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian. Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well.”

"With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe," they added.