Trump shifts his tone on Jimmy Carter while grappling with Iran war, inflation and his own legacy
President Donald Trump once frequently targeted Jimmy Carter, using the 39th president as a symbol of Democratic fecklessness to bolster his own image of strength.
But Trump’s perspective on Carter has recently grown more reflective, as he confronts challenges reminiscent of those faced by the late president. These include an ongoing conflict in Iran, which shows no signs of abating and is now escalating as the U.S. seeks to control the Strait of Hormuz.
Additionally, inflation continues to burden the economy, a problem Trump has yet to resolve despite his repeated assurances that his business acumen would eliminate it.
The comparison appears to be on Trump’s mind. Last month, when questioned about why he hadn’t deployed U.S. Special Forces into Iran to forcibly remove its enriched uranium, he responded, “I didn’t feel like being Jimmy Carter.”
This remark harked back to the failed 1980 mission to free U.S. hostages, which resulted in the deaths of eight American servicemen. Trump also commented in March that the unsuccessful operation “cost them the election” against Ronald Reagan in 1980, indicating a newfound awareness of political realities, a departure from his earlier use of Carter as a mere punchline.
This shift in tone coincides with Trump’s increased focus on his personal legacy, as the parallels between the two presidencies become increasingly difficult to overlook.
“I think it is dawning on him — it’s getting through even his thick skull — that he’s kicked over a hornet’s nest and his presidency might be remembered for some of the same things Jimmy Carter’s presidency is,” said Jonathan Alter, author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life.
Asked about Trump’s change in tone on Carter and the two facing overlapping challenges, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said, “Trump will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon” and “remains laser-focused on implementing his proven economic agenda to lower costs.”
“The president is a one-of-a-kind leader who will always unapologetically advance America’s interests,” Wales said in a statement. “The only legacy he is concerned with is making America greater than ever before.”
Kori Schake, a former member of George W. Bush’s National Security Council, said she doesn’t think Trump is reassessing Carter. “He doesn’t stitch facts together and create theories,” she said.
Still, Trump’s more recent comments are a long way from his 2024 reelection campaign, when he routinely called Joe Biden “the worst” president who made Carter look “brilliant” by comparison. Trump still frequently mentions Carter, who died two years ago at age 100, but usually to incorrectly suggest that he was wary of mail-in ballots.
Carter was married to his wife, Rosalynn, for 77 years, was deeply religious and pledged to “never knowingly lie to the American people.” Trump is twice divorced, relishes cursing publicly and offers a never-ending onslaught of falsehoods.
As president, Carter placed his family’s peanut business in a blind trust. Control of the Trump Organization has transferred to Trump’s sons, but the president took in nearly $1.2 billion from his crypto businesses last year while not being shy about turning his presidency into a major source of personal benefit in other ways.
Speaking in 1977, Carter declared, “We are now free of that inordinate fear of communism.” Trump has seized on primary wins by progressive Democrats to constantly stoke new fears about communism.
