♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> a final goodbye for the nation's 39th president. the the commander-in-chief jimmy carter served in the white house

in 1977-1981. he died at the age of 100 on december 29. today washington honors him one last time with the service of the national cathedral here in the nation's capital with all five of the nation's living presidents attending. president biden also delivering remarks. president biden was serving in his first term in the senate during the carter administration. outside of the cathedral there will be another small ceremony, military, , will continue with their honors to the commander-in-chief outside of the national cathedral before a motorcade takes the late president and his family to joint base andrew's where then for the final time they will lift off from washington, to play and georgia will he would be buried at his home next to his beloved wife, rosalynn

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[background sounds] [background sounds] >> the president from plaintiff george is on his way home, leaving washington one last time. -- plane to georgia. kurt and former president gathering at the nation's national cathedral along with first ladies and vice presidents, members of congress, supreme court justices all paying their respects today here in the nation's capital for the 39th president of the united states. it's been six days of tributes for the 39th president jimmy carter, the peanut farmer from

georgia, became president of the united states. join us is the executive director of george washington's presidential library at mount vernon. what stood out to you from this service at the national cathedral today? >> guest: a couple things that caught my eye. the first was the eulogies demonstrated carter's appeal to people from multiple sites of the aisle and to also people who the president's don't always get along with. he had two eulogies delivered by his former presidential opponents in a presidential election and his vice president. and as we've seen in the last couple of decades can the vice presidential relationship can be a challenging one. it's really tricky. carter mondale were actually instrumental in setting the tone for what is meant to have a productive relationship. that was the first thing that stuck out to me. the second thing was the

building itself was really filled with 20th century american history. it was filled with president and former president and first ladies in their families and people who work in policy. it was as historian really fun to see a huge fan of history in one building. >> host: how did it become customary it seems that show these state funerals in the nation's capital and that there is this service at the national cathedral? why the national cathedral? >> guest: in 1893 congress decided there should be a spot for there to be a national mourning location for there to be some sort of history cathedral place come some spot with the type of service, some type of prayer and worship could be held. construction of this building didn't start until 1907 but as early as woodrow wilson's passing in 1924 there started the services on the grounds of this space. and not always the funerals, the

few wells was added so. the funeral of fdr was at the white house but there was a recognition that they wanted to have an opportunity for the country to mourn at the national speed role as i think this eye to body fat for all people. >> host: is at the point of the state funeral as well, as a country as one mourns the passing of a former president? >> guest: i believe so. it can mean a lot of different things to different people. in particular there is a recognition even if the president is no longer in office they were the former head of state and so it makes sense to some sort of service for them in the nation's capital on behalf of the american people in recognition that even if they don't currently hold those powers they did at one time and that is a tremendous burden and service and sacrifice. >> host: we spoke the other day when the former president, the late president came to washington for the final time. you spoke about the state funerals, who gets to decide,

plans them? remind our viewers. >> guest: every single element of these funerals of commemorations receipt of the last six days, sometimes it eight days. reagan had eight days. carter had planned for eight days but because over the new year's holiday felt that a a shortened. they start that process almost the moment they go into the white house. because what they learned with john f. kennedy's as you don't want to the president die suddenly and have no plan. so you start that plant in the white house and then once they leave updated, they evolve as they take on new passions and interests and their family expands and grows. and they pick every song, every person in attendance, every speaker come every single detail is decided by the president and her family. >> host: the presidential hearse is leaving right now. it will be a 40 minute about estimated drive to joint base andrew's where then the casket

carrying the late president will aboard air force one, but today is callsign is special intermission 39, when the president is not the board the callsign a special intermission, 39 added today to mark r39 president. we'll continue to watch as a motorcade takes the late president and his family to the air force space. join us is lindsay chervinsky, executive director at george washington presidential library at mount vernon. we're talking about the customs here. what else is customary about the tributes that we have seen over the last few days? >> guest: a lot of the customs have really evolved only since ronald reagan's funeral. he was the first president to have a televised funeral, the age of television when every single step could be covered in filth. prior to that a lot of the services tend to be more modest even if it did have a state

funeral. very customary for them to two funerals, one here like we've seen in d.c., one at the final resting place. in terms of carter we've seen three ceremonies. we saw georgia, d.c. and back to george again. some of the elements you should buy a roll, the military julie involved in some way, that military, the military district of washington, d.c. is in charge of overseeing the security at all of the logistics, the moving pieces but if a president as a special connection to a particular branch like we see with carter and the navy they might choose to honor that through musical to a symbolic presence. if they had a particular business interest or if there something in the past they want to highlight, penis have been discussed a lot the last couple of days, we might see something like that. of course usually their family, friends and people who are important to them when you in the white house. we usually do see some sort of advisor or official that

understood them or speak to the really were and what matter to the. >> let's go back to the national cathedral and the service. who is invited and the have to be invited to be part of the service that we saw earlier? >> guest: you do. this sounds like a strange thing to say but those invitations are quite hot commodities. it is one of those events in d.c. if you're involved in the space, you want to be seen anyone to see the people who are there. there's a lot of clambering over who gets to go to what service so that of course is that people who want to be part of that memory. there's usually decision within the family about who to invite to which place, who to include come usually heads of state that are represented, different branches of government, , former officials, family members, friends that are never enough seats for the number of people who want to attend. there sometimes in the being difficult choices or even

last-minute juggling the people have to pull out at the last minute. there's a lot of behind the scenes logistics happening the last couple of days. >> host: as we watch the motorcade of what to read what "politico" had to say. carter what we call this what perhaps no other president could do at this moment, bringing together all five living current and former presidents to make republicans and three democrats. we saw that scene unfold before the service took place. is it customary for a former president, first lady, vice president to attend the services? >> guest: it is. we talk a lot about the president's club and we are offering referring the welfare of five and activities that are taken to support one another. usually there's a visit to the white house. we see the photographs. there's talk about the advice they can get to one another because so few people understand what it means to be in that position. they also do all typically gather when one of their members

passes away. we've seen that over the last several decades. that doesn't mean it's always particularly friendly club. any observer who watched the body language could see some people were more excited to see others. and who did and did that speak to who. but i think the power of that club, the power of the president of showing up and the power of the institution and recognizing the institution, the fact against a force all of them into one room says a lot. >> host: "usa today" reported the the president told them in an interview on sunday that president biden promise carter he would deliver his eulogy in 2021. you hurt the president during his remarks talk about that visit he had made to jimmy carter and his wife back in 2021. here's a quote, i, i bent down, he was in top shape, i kissed him goodbye in sba to do his eulogy he said at that final conversation that you had which

marked biden's 100th day in office at that time. is that customary that the current president would deliver these remarks? >> guest: it is often customary for a current president to deliver a eulogy especially if had a somewhat decent relationship. george w. bush delivered reagan's eulogy. what's interesting about that particular state funeral is both he and his father delivered eulogies because bush 41 was reagan's vice president. the difference between them was interesting because bush 41 talked about their personal anecdotes come personal relationship. some of the funnier stories about reagan. the current president at the time president george w. bush gave at the biographical approach. it is customary as long as i think relationship is somewhat public. >> host: let's talk about the age that jimmy carter lived to two, 100 years old, the longest living president. what if, and as we watch the

president's club come together together what if he's others which live are other presidents were to have lived to 100 you told? >> guest: it's interesting because we had an interesting tradition in american history were typically presidents don't have that long a postpresidential life. partly because modern medicine is a relatively new invention and that used to be much less predictable in the 19th century than it is today. we did see this time were we had younger presidents and so i wish i could member which article and treating this morning but there was a great series of statistics about what would've happened if former president had as long as a postpresidential life as carter did. it's not possible because if the older in office but we think about lincoln, if lincoln had had as long as a postpresidential life and he died in 1909. if the roosevelt have had as long a post-presidential life then he would've lived to see the advent of nuclear weapons. my particular favorite is if

kennedy had died comics even if unity that has a long as a postpresidential you would've died in 2017. it makes you think about all the history that carter has witnessed in the time he is able to contribute to making the world a better place. >> host: president biden said he let on civil rights, he was a hard-working farmer, a president who redefined the relationship with a vice president. interesting coming from joe biden who served as vice president and now as president. >> guest: in times they do seem like biden and obama have been very close, they appear to be very close when they were in office. there were all those bromance means that went viral. as a history is, there have been stories about there being more tension than perhaps were always front and center. and since that i think there have been some rocky waters in that relationship and certainly with consumer reporting with kamala harris and president

biden. it's hard to have a good relationship between those two offices, the vice presidency is really weird. it doesn't really have constitutional responsibilities. it and how to depend on the president. their job is to be supported but clearly there kind of waiting around. it doesn't exactly set up for easy friendships from interesting then as you said that the son of vice president mondale gave those remarks today. and talked about the relationship that the two of them had. >> guest: clearly a one relationship and a good relationship and one that met a great deal to carter, , otherwie i don't think you singled mondale out for the auto. >> host: president biden also said jimmy carter was a model of post-presidency. what did you make of that? >> guest: he was. in some ways is a model for a new type of post president because prior to carter most former presidents went home, ever relatively quiet, he didn't particularly participate in

politics but also didn't have a whole lot of public presence. carter was young and he wanted something to do with this time and so he created the carter center. and now most presidents have centers that are not just affiliated with their libraries but also have a philanthropic element to them. they usually have missions whether it's democracy or medicine or help for human rights, but carter did all of those things. he really carved a new path for what was possible for former presidents to consider with their time, influence and power. >> host: his grandson in his eulogy marking connoting the presidential carter said had 3500 employees, only about 100 here in america and the rest across the world. >> guest: really incredible. carter was clearly very focused on global affairs. that was true during his presidency and some of his biggest contributions were with

foreign policy. but i treated that a lot to his time in the navy. he lived all over the place. he got to see a lot of new types of people. i also attribute it to his christian faith. there's an element of wanting to lift up those that are struggling the most and he often found spaces like the guinea worm or river blindness where he could make a real tangible impact on millions of lives. >> host: jimmy carter the late president is on his way home to plains, georgia, right now. the motorcade on your screen. just still inside washington, actually under the kennedy center right now, making its way to the beltway and 50 joint base andrew's from there, there will be another ceremony, the military will honor the commander-in-chief there with more hail to the chief, 21 gun salute before the casket is put on air force one. today as we said called special

air emission 39. carter family also bored and it will go to plains, georgia. back home the late president will be buried at his home in plains, georgia, next to his wife rosalynn carter who died over a year ago. being buried at this is his preference. being buried at his home, his wife buried there as well. talk about their home in plains, georgia. is it a public site? >> guest: it is now, yes. it is been taken over by the national park service. this was the carter's decision and the carter's wish that it is not uncommon for presidents to do so once they are no longer living at a particular place in recognition that this is where they were formed, this is where the story begin. often do have a presidential library or a museum that accompanies that so a good exe is the eisenhower museum in

abilene, kansas. there's a childhood home of eisenhower right next to the museum and the presidential library and that is the national park service site as well. so it is not unusual for that to happen. what i think is amazing that carter's decision to go home is he is not being buried at the presidential library. he is being very data some with rosalind. that is slightly more unusual choice, the home built in 1961 and you heard his grandson talk about a very modest home, ranch-style, pictures all over the refrigerator. what did you make of the description his grandson had of his grandpa? >> guest: it's not what we typically associate with presidential homes, to be sure. not that all presidents have been wealthy but usually once they leave office they do write books, they give talks, the in-depth living in slightly different circumstances than perhaps when they came in office. the commitment to meet with what it signifies is a commitment to

the community and to the church community and the people in the neighbor secret up with andy recognition of how much his presence could continue to do for georgia. he didn't have to go back there. he chose to. for me it's less about the house and more about the roots and wanted to make sure as long as he is able to, he gave back to that space. >> host: he discovered his family farm was in debt. he was at least $1 million in debt debt. they had to make money. >> guest: yes. the way he chose to do so was writing books. he didn't want to necessarily give a lot of expensive speeches because even though he could have because i think you word it would somehow shift either his presence for making seem biased towards a certain group but if you wrote books then he was paid for his words, and he felt like that was a more honest living. he wrote more books than any other former president, i think it's something like 32, which

assumed was written books, wow that makes me feel like a slacker. i am nowhere near that number. it's quite impressive. it's an all different subjects. wrote about foreign policy. he wrote about his life and that's an incredible way to spend one's time. >> host: and he was honored for his post-presidency worked with the the nobel peace prize. >> guest: he was. if you were to add all the things that you would almost like you would be making that because how could anyone fit all these things into their life? his work and for policy in particular in trying to continue diplomacy especially in the middle east but also did a lot of work with democracy and election monetary. they would go in surveys election monitors that were not involved in the political process such that they could be honest brokers. that's a really incredible way to contribute to the spread of democratic ideals trend with his

dedication and commitment to public health. he was quoted as saying he wanted to make sure he was alive long enough to see the end of the guinea worm. his grandson talk about the devastation of that disease in africa, going from millions of cases to 14. >> guest: it's unbelievable. what i think is remarkable about that particular choice is it's not necessarily a disease a lot of people would know about in the united states. it's not necessarily the sexiest of cheers to try to come up with but he understood as something he could make a tangible difference. if you put the weight of the carter center, the funds, the power and research behind it, then they could really move the needle and that's remarkable thing to do. >> host: i want to read from "politico" magazine taken e motorcade on your screen today is the motorcade that is bringing the president, the late president and this comes to joint base andrew's.

another ceremony will follow there before then. special air mission 39 takes off for the final time from washington and brings the president home to plains, georgia. there will be services it there as well. marks six days a tribute to the commander-in-chief. "politico" magazine, son of the south is what the right, a farmer comes of the baptist and in need of south georgia with the accepted match. carter was unambiguously of the deep south with his open hand to black voters though he was not reminder of the bad old days. in 1976 the images from little rock, oxford, tuscaloosa, philadelphia, selma and memphis were all fresh memories. closer than what 9/11 is to today. he was the beneficiary of exquisite timing as well by running 11 years after the voting rights act he was able to win over billions of enfranchise southern black people while still retaining the votes of

southern whites who were made loyal to the ancestral party. many of them having come of age when franklin d. roosevelt was as popular there as air-conditioning. >> guest: i was listening to commentary this morning and look at the political map, jimmy carter won the south in terms of electoral map exact same way donald trump did this year come for this past year i should say. the only southern states he didn't win was virginia. the only southern state trump didn't win was virginia. that demonstrates what your target in terms of the shift of the electorate from both the civil rights era ended up through today. carter was absolutely shaped by his formative expenses in the south. he grew up in a deeply segregated town. his father was the segregationist. he also had at the same time a black nanny or black housekeeper who was a central figure in his life. when he gave interviews the better even into his 90s he

would tear up because how special she was to him. he did have to special and his first or in his second gubernatorial campaign dave camp have to play footsie although that with some of the segregationist ideas picky kind of toed the line with some of that but the minute he was elected he said the entire investigation was over and he never looked back. he had the support of people like martin luther king senior and it brought the same ideas to washington. and appointed more people of caller to the federal judiciary that everything president prior combined. >> host: what also shaped him was his faith. we heard about that today. here we are in this january 9 just days away from our next inauguration of the 47th president. "washington post" for jimmy carter faith was inseparable from politics and life. in his inaugural address in january 1977 president carter spoke just four sentences for

quoting from scripture. tractor i will go out on a limb and say i don't think we'll see that in a week and a half. carter is probably the most religious ormer president we have had. it was central to his presidency. it's not is that all presidents have to be that way but he didn't always like politics. he sought as a means to an in and he was deeply driven by his faith to try to make the world a better place and politics was a very useful way to do that. sometimes his frustration with other politicians, his unwillingness to participate for the d.c. culture reflected that this date while ultimately still wanting the power to try and do something with it. >> host: one lighthearted moment from today's eulogies was when one of those speakers said that god should be ready for jimmy carter come to let them know -- [laughing] >> guest: there was a really

good, some really funny moments today. and the glad people brought that human because i do think these are of course some events but they should be human if it is a really appreciated his grandson jason talked of the time he called him fiu's taking a picture and didn't have uses telephone, despite being a nuclear engineer. that was probably also one of my favorite moments. >> host: what about the separation of church and state tax faith and religion is always brought into services that we see like this. not just jimmy carter. he was a devout christian but we've seen in other services for former presidents. >> guest: a really good question. the national cathedral is i believe under the episcopalian umbrella, if i'm remembering correctly, but the service is considered to be nondenominational. of course it's christian but is nondenominational because it has represent is from a lot of

christian traditions of backers. you raise about the point which is we have a very strict separation in our constitution and in the first amendment that the church and the state are not necessarily supposed to come by. now they can individually for someone's preferences and he think in this case it was a particularly religious service because carter was so religious himself. but i think you raise a good question that these are thinks we should be thinking about. what is the appropriate level of religion in commemoration? was a appropriate level of religion in the presidency? i suspect everything a person whatever different answer to that question but a think there are questions worth discussing. >> host: as a said the motorcade is underway to joint air base andrew's. from there the late president will go home to plains, georgia, along with the carter family, the four children at the he and rosalynn had, and as well as the

minute almost a couple dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren, many of them attending today. the honor guard special honor guard you can see on your right at joint base andrew's are marching in to place. there will be more tributes and honors given to the former commander-in-chief. lindsay chervinsky, widely things like four flourishes and ruffles and hail to the chief and the 21 gun salute? what is a significant? >> guest: dual significance. one, it's an honor of jimmy carter's personal military service if anyone has attended a funeral for someone who is serving in the military, particularly there's military out of it towards the income there's a salute, a flag presented that's pretty common. but also in recognition he was commander-in-chief. he was command of the military, even though he still logged in the position but as a former commander received the honor is due to a commander.

>> host: 21 gun salute, the significance significance of that in particular? >> guest: that stumps me. i should know that. >> host: doubts a record a lot of detail tragic that's an interesting point because the military as you talk about overseas, joint task force for the capital region that oversees the entire funeral, how do they quickly get all of the resources that we as seen on our screens over the past \60{l1}s{l0}\'60{l1}s{l0}, quickly put everybody in place? do they practice? how is it that the polis off? >> guest: yeah, they do. because this is so well-planned they have really good sense of what is supposed to happen at any given logo how it's '07, who supposed to be involved where those resources are supposed to come from and then of course as a former president, if it seems like it is somewhat predictable and thankfully carter had such a

long and glorious life it was predictable towards the end, they are usually given a a hes up as things are starting to look like this moment might be nearing. but because it is well-planned, there are always fun set aside. the military district is ready to go. that doesn't mean there's not last-minute scraggly. they're always his holy people splash around the holidays. i'm sure a lot of people wrongly and some of that was canceled. but there is a pretty good plan in place. >> host: the motorcade has now entered into maryland and we are moments away from the presidential hearse making its way onto joint base andrew's. the military honors will continue to we've been talking with lindsay chervinsky, , the executive director of the george washington presidential library at mount vernon. when this is all over, lindsay chervinsky, what are the lessons learned? what does history say about a

week like this? >> guest: a couple things we can take away from it. so the first is that legacies take a long time to unfold. if carter had died a couple weeks after leaving office we would be having very different conversations and we have today. that's horrible the because a lot of policies he put in place had not yet unfolded. we didn't know how they're going to work or if they're going to work or if his diplomatic efforts would pan out. history takes a long time to really understand exactly what peoples roles in it are. the second i think people will come away with an appreciation that much of what we celebrate harder for is not critical. it's about politics. his decency, his goodness, his humanitarian commitment, his service. those are not political things, and that is something worth remember, that there are things that are not political. the last piece and i would encourage anyone to think that we've seen all of these ceremonies and regardless of how you feel about the