'Piggish is too kind a word': Trump ripped for joke about Jimmy Carter dying 'a happy man'
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 17, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
President Donald Trump could not acknowledge Jimmy Carter today without using the death of the former President to dig at his own presidential predecessor Joe Biden.
“Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn't the worst president. Joe Biden was,” Trump told a crew of reporters at the White House.
The statement drew immediate reaction from online critics from all over the world. Harri Ohra-aho, senior advisor for defense and former security director of the Finnish Military Intelligence Centre described Trump as too stupid to see anything as more than spectacle.
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“Whatever one may think about the policies of previous presidents, this is probably the bottom line,” Ohra-aho posted. “Everything seems to be just a show for the current one.”
National Review Senior Editor Jay Nordlinger was similarly despairing, saying, “I don’t think an American president should talk this way. Then again, I could say this every day. And tens of millions of Americans lap up Trump like milk.”
Boston University College of Education professor Jerry Berger had his own reaction, posting, “Piggish is too kind a word to describe this individual.”
The statement also presented an easy target for Occupy Democrats Executive Editor Grant Stern, who called the claim: “Half true. Half False. Trump is definitely the worst president, and it's not even close,” while U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said, “Jimmy Carter, if he died a happy man, it was because he lived a life of service, and followed a path laid out by Jesus.”
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Other critics, like Atlanta Journal-Constitution Columnist and Forbes writer Sophia Nelson could only muster a single-word reaction: “Jesus…”
Carter’s memory is etched in the minds of millions of people, regardless of political disposition. In 1982, he established the Carter Center to promote and expand human rights, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Among his many accomplishments, Carter spent his retirement building homes for the homeless, and he is attributed as the chief architect behind the near eradication of the African Guinea worm, one of humanity’s only species-specific parasites.
He also likely did not vote for Trump.
Watch Trump's remarks here.
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