Trump brands Jimmy Carter a president who ‘broke’ America with his ‘weakness’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump posted a meme on Truth Social targeting Jimmy Carter, grouping him with four other presidents he claims "broke" America.

Trump has gone after Carter before, often criticizing his leadership. The meme, which first appeared on Friday, August 28, contrasts five presidents Trump says “built” the nation, himself included, against five he calls “breakers.”

Meme lists Buchanan, Wilson, Carter, Obama, and Biden as presidents who 'broke' the US

The meme included Trump alongside George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Ronald Reagan as the presidents who "built" the US.

Each president's portrait included a descriptor, highlighting what the meme's creator thought of each president. Washington was credited with "foundation," Lincoln with "union," Jefferson with "liberty," Reagan with "strength," and Trump with "America first."

On the other side, James Buchanan, Woodrow Wilson, Carter, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden were listed as having "broken" the country, tagged respectively as "failure," "bureaucracy," "weakness," "division," and "decline."

Trump hasn't held back when it comes to Carter. During Carter's 100th birthday in October 2024, Trump poked fun at him at a manufacturing event, calling the 39th president "the happiest man" since Biden made him look like a genius by comparison.

Then in April 2025, Trump brought Carter up again. He said Carter "died a happy man" just because, in Trump's view, Carter lost his spot as the worst president.

Carter, the longest-living president, died on December 29, 2024. Following the former president and humanitarian's death, Trump paid tribute and praised Carter in a statement.

"Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History," he wrote on Truth Social. 

"The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude," he added. 

Broader ranking of presidents

A day earlier, Trump had shared a broader ranking of US presidents.

The 80-year-old placed himself at the top of the ranking under the words "the greatest" while historic presidents like Lincoln, Washington, and Franklin D Roosevelt were placed under "great."

Under the "near great" category were Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt, among others. "Average" presidents included Bill Clinton, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, Herbert Hoover, and James Madison, among several others, and "below average" presidents included Calvin Coolidge, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore.

The "failures" category included Biden, Carter, Obama, Warren G Harding, and Ulysses S Grant. 

The posts add to a string of recent social media messages in which Trump has ranked or compared himself to past presidents, a pattern that has become increasingly frequent in his public commentary this year.