Trump showers praise on Jimmy Carter despite former POTUS' plan to vote against him in 2024

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: Former President Donald Trump recently sat down for a tete-a-tete with Dr Phil, during which he delved into his alleged assassination attempt, his perceived threat to democracy, and an eyebrow-raising conversation about former President Jimmy Carter.

The wide-ranging interview also touched upon Trump's claims of voter fraud and his vision for the future.

Trump's unexpected praise for Jimmy Carter

One of the more stirring moments in the interview was when Trump brought up Carter while discussing the subject of mail-in ballots and voter fraud.

The former president offered what appeared to be faint praise for his predecessor. "Jimmy Carter, who's the happiest man alive today because his administration is brilliant by comparison to Harris and Biden," he told Dr Phil.

Trump referenced the 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform, which Carter co-chaired. According to the Baker Institute of Public Policy, the commission found that "absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud."

Trump seized on this as validation for his ongoing claims about the dangers of mail-in voting.

Sadly for Trump, however, Carter himself does not align with him on this issue. In fact, Carter's family has made it clear that the 39th POTUS intends to vote against the Republican juggernaut in the upcoming election.

Carter's grandson Jason told MSNBC, "He's super aware. Just recently, we were talking about his 100th birthday, and he said, 'Yeah, I'm excited about that, but I'm really excited to vote for Kamala Harris.'"

Throughout the interview, Trump frequently invoked Carter's presidency as a point of comparison to President Joe Biden's term in office. Trump argued that Biden's administration has been more problematic than Carter's, whose single term is mostly remembered for its failures.

But this comparison seemed odd to some observers. As pollster Zac McCrary pointed out to AP, "It's akin to a Democrat launching an attack on Gerald Ford or Herbert Hoover or William McKinley. It doesn't signify anything to voters except Trump taking a cheap shot at a figure that most Americans at this point believe has given a lot to his country and to the world."

The irony in Trump's praise of Carter's stance on elections is further amplified by the fact that Carter has previously claimed that Trump's initial election was only possible due to Russian interference.

Despite his opposition, Carter attended Trump's 2017 inauguration as a show of respect for the peaceful transfer of power. In contrast, Trump decided to skip Biden's inauguration in 2021.

Trump's claims about winning California and honest vote counting

During his discussion with Dr Phil, Trump made bold claims about his chances of winning California - a state traditionally dominated by Democrats.

"If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, OK?" Trump declared. "In other words, if we had an honest vote counter, a really honest vote counter — I do great with Hispanics, great, I mean at a level no Republican has ever done — but if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California."

Dr Phil appeared surprised by this claim and asked, "You think so?" to which Trump replied, "Oh I think so. I see it. I go around California, they have Trump signs all over the place...It’s a very dishonest [state], everything is mail-in. They send out 38 million ballots, I think it is."

Trump further reiterated his belief that mail-in voting leads to widespread fraud, stating, "Any time you have a mail-in ballot, you’re going to have massive fraud."

Another point of contention brought up during the interview was Trump's comments at a recent gathering of Christian voters, where he suggested that they wouldn't "have to vote again" after the 2024 election. Dr Phil asked for a clarification.

"It doesn’t mean we’re not going to have elections. You’re going to have elections. But you have to vote this time because we have to win," Trump explained, suggesting that his goal is to “straighten everything out in less than four years, by a lot.”

"Christians, for whatever reason, don’t vote very much - you know, proportionately," he continued. "NRA people, and people that feel very strongly about the Second Amendment - they’re not voters. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s a rebellious streak."

Dr Phil sought to further clarify, asking, “So, you didn’t mean, ‘Vote me in once ’cause I ain’t never leaving?’ You’re meaning, ‘This is an important one. Vote this time?’” Trump confirmed, saying, "Of course, that’s what I meant. Everybody knew what I meant at the time."

Watch the full interview here: