While, yes, Jimmy Carter was the “ripe old age” of a hundred when he passed away on December 29, 2024, something about the timing—as “expected” as his death may have been—comes across as yet another ill omen for American politics in 2025. Though perhaps it was Carter “manifesting” the end of his life before he could bear witness to the horrors of a second Trump presidency now under the “tutelage” of Elon Musk and other tech bros/their interests. None of which involve “relating” or “giving back” to the common man.
When Carter was “miraculously” elected president in November of 1976, he had on his side the advantage of being a Washington, DC outsider. However, unlike Trump—another so-called outsider to that world—Carter had been on the ground as an actual person (a working-class man, if you will) and seen the horrors firsthand of what it takes to be a “nobody.” And in the wake of the Richard Nixon, mired-in-scandal presidency—which Gerald Ford served as a continued emblem of—Carter was looking like the perfect solution to the cluelessness of politicians in matters of being “for the people.” Such politicians being the very “representatives” who rarely ever seem to actually be representative of the “average American.” Every president since Carter has fit that bill (save for Bill Clinton), being, in general, nothing more than silver spoon-sucking man-children spat out of the Ivy League with a degree solely because their daddies paid for one. Both George W. Bush and Donald Trump particularly exemplify this trope, with the latter managing to make the former look like a real “man of the people” in comparison.
As for Reagan, the B-list-actor-turned-politician who would manage to topple Carter from the role of president in 1980 (after Carter had only served one term), well, there’s plenty of speculation about the eeriness of timing on that front, too. Specifically, how conveniently timed it was for the American hostages in Iran to be released. In other words, their release seemed almost as though it was specifically designed to make Reagan look like the big, strong white knight and Carter to look like the inept weakling because of his “peacenik” philosophies that, according to most government officials and conservatives, were going to get the U.S. killed. So it is that, all these decades later, a deeper investigation into the how and why of the release of those fifty-two American hostages came to the fore.
Turns out, a key member of Reagan’s campaign team, John B. Connally, had more than a touch of subliminal influence on things. This confessed years later by someone who accompanied him on a trip to the Middle East in 1980, Ben Barnes. During that trip, at which time six Middle Eastern countries were visited (Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Syria), Connally was certain to tell each of the leaders he met to pass along the message to Iran not to release the hostages until after the election. At which time, if everything went according to Republicans’ plans, Reagan would be able to take credit for the “victory,” despite having done nothing whatsoever apart from being a pawn in the political game.
Upon returning from the very-productive-indeed trip, Reagan’s campaign director, William J. Casey, was briefed about the goings-on and reportedly outright asked if “they were going to hold the hostages” until after the election. The answer came with a resounding yes when Iran chose to release them just minutes after Reagan was inaugurated. It was the ultimate “fuck you” to Carter and the Democratic party. For perhaps militant Islamists do have much more in common with hyper-conservative Republicans, therefore thought it more prudent to “cater to”/“align with” them. The entire debacle was made worse by the fact that Carter ordered a rescue mission—called Operation Eagle Claw—that ended up failing spectacularly. Here, too, however, speculation about sabotage has arisen, with Carter instructed by the military to abort the mission as the plan was to carry it out only if eight of the six helicopters sent into Iran remained operational (though only four were absolutely required).
Unfortunately for Carter and the hostages, only five helicopters successfully arrived at the first “staging area,” Desert One. Even so, based on the fact that, immediately after agreeing to pull the military personnel out, one of the helicopters crashed into a transport plane, killing eight men inside, they might as well have gone for broke with only five helicopters. That the military didn’t exactly have a great rapport with a “peacenik” like Carter seemed to add to the cursed nature of the mission. Though, of course, Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran at the time, was quick to cite that God was responsible for delivering such swift “justice” for American attempts at intervention, calling Carter out with the proclamation, “Who crushed Mr. Carter’s helicopters? We did? The sands did! They were God’s agents. Wind is God’s agent… These sands are agents of God. They can try again!”
So it was that Carter was forced to take responsibility for the failed mission and the loss of multiple lives in the process. What’s more, the Iranians, spooked by the mission, decided to scatter the hostages throughout different parts of the country afterward so as to make it impossible for any further rescue attempts that might be able to recoup everyone being held captive. What it all spelled was Carter’s political doom, sealing his fate as the man who would forever be associated with this giant blemish. And then in came Regan on his horse and his Stetson, so to speak, to “save the day” with some dick-swinging energy. Never mind the fact that he was actually a frail man with dementia. The Hollywood show was about to be put on, and Reagan was a seasoned actor who could still deliver. In contrast, Carter could never “act the part” of president—that is to say, pretend to be something he wasn’t: a ruthless, merciless, trigger-happy sort of fellow.
Needless to say, Reagan lived up to the expectations of being a “warmonger” (as Carter called him), covertly selling arms to Iran in spite of the well-known embargo. To make the activity even more sinister and illicit, Reagan and key members of his administration used the proceeds from the sale of those arms to help fund the Contras in Nicaragua (hence the name “Iran-Contra Affair”). That Reagan was in bed with Iran (“Politics makes strange bedfellows,” as it is said) from the outset should have been an indication that he would have no qualms about “collaborating more” with them. A quality seen as a “virtue” rather than a sign of moral laxity in the political arena, and from the perspective of Americans who felt they needed a more unscrupulous leader in order to stay “on top.”
So it was that Carter became appreciated and revered only after his presidency, when his philosophy of peace was appreciated by those who didn’t actually view peace as being possible on an “in practice,” governmental level. Outside of that arena, however, why not let the man keep dreaming? But have him dare ask Americans to turn their thermostats down to sixty-five degrees to conserve energy again, and you could fucking forget about anything resembling “respect” for the man. And then came his iconic “Crisis of Confidence” speech in 1979, during which, among other “hard truths,” Carter told Americans, “It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt of the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of unity and purpose as a Nation. The erosion of confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of the nation.”
Alas, Trump represents the very worst kind of overconfidence. A confidence based on nothing (save for smoke and mirrors/Wizard of Oz pomp) to back it up. And as he proceeds to take office—yet again—come January 20th, it seems only too tinged with irony that, just eleven days before, there will be a National Day of Mourning for Carter. In turn, a National Day of Mourning for political grace itself. Though that probably already occurred on January 6, 2021, when Trump and his supporters refused to allow for the peaceful transition of power to Joe Biden. A man who Trump has often spoke unfavorably of, doing so this year by bringing Carter into it with the line, “Biden is the worst president in the history of our country. Worse than Jimmy Carter by a long shot.”
And yet, surprisingly, Trump broke rank with his extremist right-wing rhetoric after news of Carter’s death to say, “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.” Though, of course, there’s no doubt someone else must have written such fully-formed sentences for him.
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