Former President Jimmy Carter has denied the deceitfulness of the imperial presidency and never abandoned his humble roots in Georgia, but he still plans to hold an elaborate ceremony starting Tuesday when he will be taken to Washington for three days of mourning. It will be given a nationwide send-off.
Carter, who died last week at the age of 100, will be flown from Atlanta to Washington, taken to the U.S. Naval Memorial downtown, and then delivered to the U.S. Capitol in a horse-drawn caisson. He will rest peacefully in the Capitol Rotunda for a day and a half before receiving a formal state funeral Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral.
Vice President Kamala Harris. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, and Sen. John Thune, Republican Majority Leader of South Dakota, will deliver eulogies and lay flowers at the Capitol in a ceremony scheduled to begin Tuesday around 4:30 p.m. It's planned. Among the dignitaries invited will be members of Congress, Cabinet members, the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the diplomatic corps, state governors, and the mayor of Washington.
The date was postponed due to snow in Washington, but the public can pay their respects from 7pm until midnight on Tuesday and all day Wednesday. Thousands of people are expected to head to the Capitol to honor the 39th president, who served from 1977 to 1981 and will be enshrined in the same catafalque that gave birth to Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in 1865.
According to the official schedule, “Ruffles and Flourishes” and “Hail to the Prior” will be performed at least five times on Tuesday. Dobbins Air Force Reserve Base in Georgia, where he will be loaded onto a presidential special jet and flown north. At Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, just outside Washington. At the Navy Memorial. And then back to the National Diet Building.
A 21-gun salute will be fired in his honor at three stops: Dobbins, Andrews and Capitol Hill. A series of honor guards and military bands will participate in various events. A stop at the Naval Memorial commemorates his service in the Navy as a submariner.
All the pomp and atmosphere is traditional for presidential commemorations, as was the farewell to President George H.W. Bush in 2018, President Gerald R. Ford in 2006, and President Ronald Reagan in 2004. It is something. But in Carter's case, they remain impressive. He was so intent on disrespecting the dignity of the office that during his early years as president he banned the playing of “Long Live the Secretary.”
Mr. Carter, who took office after Watergate and Vietnam, wanted to show humility to restore trust in government and presented himself as a member of the people. On Inauguration Day, he and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, jumped out of the presidential limousine and walked down the parade route to the White House, wowing the crowd and setting the tone for his tenure.
In addition to banning the welcoming trumpets worn by President Richard M. -I insisted that Wang carry it. He banned senior staff from using White House transportation services and lowered the White House thermostat to 65 degrees to conserve energy during his first winter living there.
Eventually, after coming under fire for degrading the presidency, Carter realized that the American people wanted the office of president to be imbued with some dignity, and he decided to implement some of these measures. bent. Although he did not purchase a new presidential yacht, he did allow “Long Live the Chief” to be played again, at least under limited circumstances.
Mr. Carter conveyed an honest sense of humility. After he lost reelection, he and his wife, Carter, returned to the simple ranch house they built in Plains, Georgia, in 1961, where they lived out the remaining 40 years of their lives. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home is valued at $241,000 by Zillow.
While other former presidents have earned six- and even seven-figure checks for speaking engagements, easy-going corporate activities, and other multimillion-dollar money-making ventures, Mr. Carter has written a total of 32 books. He made most of his living from this, and never lived until the end of his life. The upper class lifestyle of the president's colleagues.
But at some point along the way, he apparently succumbed to the demands of tradition and agreed to the elaborate commemorative events typically associated with heads of state. Presidents are deeply involved in funeral planning and, in Carter's case, have been involved in discussions for decades. He drew the line on an idea that was originally in the plan. He refused to take the body back to Georgia by train for burial. Instead, he will be sent flying.
The schedule of events for Tuesday is as follows:
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11 a.m. — Departure ceremony at Carter Center in Atlanta.
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12:45 PM — Boarding Special Air Mission 39 from Dobbins to Andrews.
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2:15 PM — Arrive in Andrews for motorcade to Washington.
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3:30 p.m. — Relocation ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial.
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4:10 p.m. — A horse-drawn caisson arrives at the Capitol.
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4:30 PM — Ceremony in the Rotunda. Memories will be delivered by Mr. Harris, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Thune.
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7 p.m. — The public is invited to pay their respects.
