CNN’s Abby Phillip lauded President-elect Donald Trump for being “incredibly gracious” about the late President Jimmy Carter following his passing.
Trump attended Carter’s funeral on Thursday with President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and others. He was even seen at one point chumming it up with Obama — whom he was seated next to.
During coverage of the funeral, Phillip was discussing that each president at the funeral has to be thinking about how they too will have similarly big sendoffs like Carter, and then she singled out Trump as “incredibly gracious” about Carter recently, partly chalking it up to him surviving his own near-death experience last year.
Phillip said:
All of those men there have gone through the planning process. All of those men there have thought about it. I think particularly of President Trump, who I think surprised a lot of people with how — at least his written statements and some of his verbal statements about Jimmy Carter have been incredibly gracious. He disagrees with Jimmy Carter on virtually everything, but something tells me that understanding he has been president, he will be president again, understanding what that job entails, understanding what this moment means. Having President Trump, not one, but two near death experiences just in the last year. He has been incredibly gracious about Jimmy Carter in at least his written word and some of his spoken word despite a lot
of policy disagreements.
“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,” Trump wrote after Carter’s passing. “Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.”
In another post, Trump acknowledged his political differences with Carter, but still praised him.
“While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for. He worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect,” he wrote. “He was a truly good man and, of course, will be greatly missed. He was also very consequential, far more than most Presidents, after he left the Oval Office.”
The statements stand in contrast to what Trump had previously said about Carter, often referring to him as “the worst” president, though he later gave that title to Biden, saying the president made Carter look “brilliant.”
Watch above via CNN.