donald trump and barack obama have a lot to say to each other. >> dana: i'm sure the lip reeders will try to get ahold of that. i'm sure it is a chance for the president's club. this is a tribute to the former president, jimmy carter, who will be laid to rest later today. the funeral first at the national cathedral which will be a beautiful ceremony covered in full on fox business. >> bill: you think about picture now, kamala harris, hillary clinton. bill clinton was just in the hospital and looks no worse for the wear. a close-up shot of him a moment ago. he looks good and healthy and together they come together and well, they will honor the 39th president and joe biden, the current president, will help deliver the eulogy and we will certainly be available for that

to listen to his message today in washington. >> dana: all right. here we have the president of the united states, joe biden and first lady jill biden arriving into the national cathedral for the beginning of this service so we must be about to get underway as they take their seats. >> bill: it is a stunning place whether there is a ceremony underway or not. just a beautiful place in washington, d.c. to visit and take some quiet time-out and we have watched so many moments together over the past several decades where the nation has paused to recognize moments in american history and today this is yet another one of those. >> dana: a momentous today in america. breaking news out of los angeles on hunter biden we saw a few moments ago. the reports that his house has burned down there as well. al gore, former vice president as well is there. many of them had been a part of

at least in some way habitat for humanity of the one of the beautiful organizations that jimmy carter helped found in his post presidency. >> bill: there will be several tributes. joe biden will deliver one of them. in an ironic twist in presidential history some of the other tributes will be delivered by steve ford, the son of the late president gerald ford. he wrote a tribute to jimmy carter. they forged a friendship together in the presidential club and ford will deliver that. ted mondale will read a letter written by his father and the former vice president walter mondale today. >> dana: you will hear from james carter, one of the many grandsons of president carter and joshua carter as well and jason carter. so jason, joshua and james all grandchildren of president carter will have a chance to pay tribute to their late

grandfather who they loved very much. >> bill: andrew young is also there today. i was watching him the other day in an interview and talking about his memories of jimmy carter not just as a president but also as a governor before he went to washington, d.c. and the years that he spent in his post presidency. remember, he left the presidency and he was 45 years young, which he had a long runway after that. went into hospice almost two years ago and had survived a long time on hospice, rather, under great care as well. and andrew young will deliver the homily today. his message will certainly be poignant. the choir is so stunning and sounds so beautiful and we'll hear the song "imagine" sung as a duet by garth brooks and tricia yearwood, quite a pair. >> dana: the carter family, that's who that is paying tribute there and saying hello

to president biden and first lady jill biden, here we have jimmy carter, the late president, his casket, about to be entered into the national cathedral procession. listen in here for a second.

[band playing] ♪ ♪ >> bill: this is quite the moment. we remarked last hour the last time we were there together was the funeral for george h.w. bush. the memory i have from that day. not only was it cold like it is today but how his son, 43, was leading the way for the family and his father into church that day. >> dana: i remember his speech very well and remember how stoic he was until the very end.

we have noticed that barack obama and president-elect trump having a chance to catch up there as they sit next to each other. >> there are 11 pal bearers, all of them are jimmy carter's grandchildren. some considered honorary, some will have a hand on the casket as it goes into the national cathedral. bret baier is riding shotgun. we're balancing a lot of stories today. u.s. naval academy, annapolis, growing up on a peanut farm in georgia and time spent as president. very controversial i would argue. when his term of office ended and the american hostages were held in tehran for 444 days, were released and ronald reagan on january 20th in 1981 ushered in a whole new era in american

life. even if you think about today, and if you open "the new york times," there is a long article today but how democratic politicians since jimmy carter have had to defend their own service to america, their own commitment to strength, and they point out exclusively how hillary clinton repeatedly used the word strong and strength when she was trying to capture the white house in 2016. and the legacy of jimmy carter for some is very complicated one. not just as president but in his post presidency also. >> dana: america usually does give a second chance to their presidents in terms of re-election, bret. jimmy carter's case and joe biden's not the case and president-elect trump coming back for a second term. >> bret: as you look at that image of the living presidents, you know, these are moments that only happen every so often as you mentioned, 2018 the last

time. and i think one of the things about carter's legacy. we can talk about all the policies and criticism, but there was also this humility, this sense after watergate and vietnam that that's what the country wanted. he was not afraid to talk about his faith. and he was a very religious man. evangelical baptist. he talked about being a born again christian on the campaign trail and i think you will hear a lot of that in this service today. looking back at how solid a religious man he was. he wasn't afraid to talk about it. >> bill: bret, when you look at the presidents assembled here, donald trump, the cameras were on him almost exclusively from every network as he entered church a moment ago. and dana and i were talking about how much he and barack obama had to talk about and maybe we need to get a good lip

reader in here to tell us what that conversation was all about, bret. >> bret: yeah, and it's just stark. you see vice president harris there in the front row. obviously barack obama and all that happened in the election and all that was said in the election. but these moments go past the politics. this is about honoring one of a very small group of people who have been president of the united states and it only happens every so often as you look at the president and vice president there. >> dana: in 11 days they'll gather again, bret. >> bret: they will gather again for the inauguration. there are all kinds of things. but america, like america did in 1981, is turning the page from joe biden to president-elect trump, soon to be president trump like it did from jimmy carter to ronald reagan. it is a big shift. >> dana: the one thing also i would add, i am reminded of when

obama came in as we watch the casket come into the national cathedral there, america shows the world over and over again that we might have really tough campaigns and there might be some really strong words said against each other but we can come together like this over and over unlike most other countries of the world. >> bill: look at this picture. al gore, right in front of him george bush. they fought it out for 37 days in late 2000. next to him is mike pence who distanced himself from his former boss, donald trump. and in front of donald trump is doug emhoff and his wife kamala harris who were beaten in november. to dana's point, this is quite remarkable and it is one of those moments when people say this is what makes america great. these people compete in a political level. they have very strong differences in how they believe

the country should be run, and what sort of force we should be around the world. but at least for this moment and for this day they are -- they are like fraternity brothers. they look at each other and smile as you see trump and obama in the picture there. ♪ [choir singing] ♪

>> dana: as the congregation stands for the procession we're preparing to hear some -- probably some very moving speeches from a range of people from jimmy carter's life, including three of his grandchildren. and a personal pastor who you know well, anthony loden. is that right? >> bill: is that a question to me? no, this gentleman here. steven ford. he was one of the children of gerald ford and when he was younger he was an actor and performed a lot of soap operas and he was a spokesman for a lot of racetracks. when i was a very young cub reporter in cincinnati, ohio working the sports scene there, steven ford would come through and he would run a horse race every year. terrific guy. you'll see him at the podium

today delivering the eulogy that his father wrote in honor of jimmy carter. >> dana: it has never been released. never heard it before. i got to meet steven ford at his own father's funeral during the bush administration. you have seen as the president's row we are calling here. president and first lady's row. bill and hillary clinton, george and laura bush. barack obama, michelle not there today. president-elect trump and melania and in front of him we have the president and first lady, the bidens, and kamala harris and her husband, doug emhoff. bret baier, as we await for the procession to get underway additional thoughts from you. >> bret: first of all, being in that cathedral is quite something. the cathedral choir with "the road home" opening the ceremony. you talk about steve ford, he will read what gerald ford wrote for this moment and ted mondale

will read what vice president walter mondale wrote for this moment that is very powerful. you will hear voices from president ford and vice president mondale through their family members. and obviously a big moment for president biden delivering this eulogy. you know, we talked about humility for president carter. as the casket was coming in they played hail to the chief. at the beginning of president he said i don't want to hear hail to the chief. i don't want the pomp and circumstance but then at the end relented but at the beginning it was the effort post watergate, post vietnam to be humble and expect that message in these messages today. >> bill: reflect a little bit how this relationship between ford and carter blossomed. gerald ford is running to hold the office in 1976. jimmy carter defeats him and it seemed as if the contrails of

watergate and the american public wanted to blow that out behind us and leave it behind and carter went on to win that election. it was after that victory the two men struck up a friendship and it endured for quite some time. as the carter family when he laid in state in the capitol he was near the statue for gerald ford. how did that relationship blossom the way it did? >> bret: they talked a lot and even after the defeat, they stayed in touch and i think that it's the ultimate common ground crossing and he believed in -- carter did, in his faith and forgiveness and he believed that the campaign was past them and that was an important relationship. >> bill: small club. bret, thank you. we'll hear in a moment from andrew young and others and also the dean of the washington national cathedral with the invocation.

>> and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. and though this body be destroyed, yet shall i see god whom i shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold and not as a stranger. for none of us live to himself and no man dies to himself.

>> ready, step, ready, step. ready, step. ready, step. ready, step. ready, step. ready, step, forward march. center pace. >> for if we live and if we die, we die unto the lord. >> ready, place.

ready, pace, forward, march. >> for none of us live to himself and no man dies to himself, for if we live, we live unto the lord and we die unto the lord. whether we live, therefore, or die we are the lord's. blessed are the dead who die in the lord. even so, says the spirit, for

they rest from their labors. the lord be with you, and always with you. let us pray. o god whose mer east cannot be numbered except our prayers on behalf of your servant james and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy in the fellowship of your saints. through jesus christ, our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one god now and forever, amen.

teaching sunday school as a midshipman in the naval act add movement he taught the bible every sunday from world war ii to covid. he structured his life so he was home in plains to teach at to

teach sunday school. the line started before sun rise and i was always very thankful that i got to walk in with my grandmother. as soon as we sat down sunday school would start. my grandfather always began by asking if anybody had been to this church before. my grandmother and i raised our hands and almost no one else did. then my grandfather would poll the congregation and quickly find out that the church was full of people from all over the country. of all different backgrounds and beliefs. my grandfather would address the most di verse sunday school class ever assembled again. before he delivered his bible lesson, my grandfather talked about his week. he monitored an election he would talk about it. if he talked about a conflict. if he eliminated disease from a

village or country, he would talk about it. when my brother, jeremy, died he announced that news in sunday school. in fact, i remember that my brother died on a sunday because it was the only time my grandfather was ever late to teach. my grandfather won the nobel peace prize. the sunday school class learned first. at the end of his nobel peace prize lecture he stated the most universal problem on our planet is the chasm between the richest and poorest people on earth. as the problem compounded he returned to the scene with store eaves from the bible and stories from today. the richest people in the world using their enormous wealth to buy a nation's poverty? many of the people that my grand parents helped lived on less

than $1 a day. my grandfather spent the entire time i've known him helping those in need. he built houses for people who needed homes. he eliminated diseases in forgotten places. he waged peace anywhere in the world. wherever he saw a chance. he loved people. and whenever he told these store eaves in sunday school he said he did it for one simple reason. he worshipped the prince of peace and he commanded it. the bedrock of my grandfather's faith comes from the apostle paul's letter to the romans. therefore, there is not no condemnation for those who are in christ jesus. because christ jesus, because

through christ jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. for what the law was powerless to do and that it was weakened by the sinful nature, god did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. and so he condemned sin and sinfall man in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the spirit. those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires. but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their mind set on what the spirit desires. the mind of sinfall man is death. but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace. the sinful mind is hostile to god. it does not submit to god's law.

nor can it do so. those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please god. you however are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the spirit if the spirit of got lives new. if anyone does not have the spirit of christ, he does not belong to christ. but if christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin. yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. if the spirit of him who raised jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies to his spirit who lives in you. therefore, brothers, we have an obligation but it is not to the sinful nature to live according to it. for if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. but if by the spirit you put the death and misdeeds of the body

you will live. because those who are led by the spirit of god are sons of god. for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear but you received the spirit of sonship and by him we cry abba father. the spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are god's children. if we are children, then rewith heirs, heirs of god and co-heirs with christ. if indeed we share his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. i consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory revealed in us. neither death or life, angels or demons, either the present nor the future nor any powers either height nor depth or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the

love of god that is in christ jesus, our lord. the word of the lord. >> praise be to god.

children, my wife and i were

sitting several rows behind you and we were praying for you and i was humbly reminded that it was 18 years ago, almost to the day, that our family sat in that very row and supporting my mom and it was your dad and his great faith that supported my mom and gave her the hope. he traveled with us for several days and we were blessed. so thank you. god did a good thing when he made your dad. jack, chip, jeff, amy, mr. president, madam vice president, former presidents, first ladies, members of the house of

representatives and the senate, justices of the supreme court, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. in the twilight of my dad's life, dad and president carter spoke by phone and dad asked president carter if he would do a eulogy at dad's funeral. president carter graciously agreed and then he also asked if dad would deliver a eulogy at president carter's funeral. now dad was thrilled to agree. after that call, as you can imagine, both of them got off the phone and had a pretty good chuckle considering which one of them would return in person to deliver that second eulogy.

as you know, dad died in 2006 and president carter's eulogy continues to bring comfort, a smile, laughter, joy, pride to our family and thus on behalf of my dad, it's an honor to share dad's eulogy to his old friend. i can just see my dad getting his yellow legal pad out with his pen and writing this for his beloved friend. by faith of a brief season jimmy carter and i were rivals. but for the many wonderful years that followed, friendship bonded us as no two presidents since john adams and thomas jefferson.

it is said that president adams' last words were thomas jefferson still survives. now since jimmy has a good decade on me i'm hedging my bets by entrusting my remembrances of jimmy to my son, steve. according to a map, it's a long way between grand rapids, michigan, and plains, georgia. but distances have a way of vanishing when measured in values rather than miles. and it was because of our shared values that jimmy and i respected each other as adversaries, even before we cherished one another as dear friends. now, this is not to say that jimmy never got under my skin. but has there ever been a group

of politicians that didn't do that to one another? during our 1976 contest, jimmy knew my political vulnerabilities and he successfully pointed them out. now i didn't like it, but little could i know that the outcome of that 1976 election would bring about one of my deepest and most enduring friendships. in the summer of 1981, the two of us found ourselves together again. this time aboard air force one bound for the funeral of the great peacemaker sadat. there is an old line to the effect that two presidents in a room is one too many. [laughter]

frankly, i wondered how awkward that long flight might be to cairo and it was a long flight but the return trip was not nearly long enough. for it was somewhere over the atlantic that jimmy and i forged a friendship that transcends politics. we immediately decided to exercise one of the privileges of a former president, forgetting that either one of us had ever said any harsh words about the other one in the heat of battle. then we got onto much more enjoyable subjects discussing our families, our faith, and sharing our experiences in discovering that there is indeed life after the white house. we commiserated over the high cost of building presidential

libraries. [laughter] and the even more regrettable fact that most of that fundraising for these otherwise admirable institutions fell to us personally. on the spot we agreed to participate in programs and each other's library beginning with a series of conferences on arms control. and if that wasn't news worthy enough, we told reporters on the plane that a lasting middle east peace would require the united states to make tough decisions, like confronting the palestinian issue directly. there by building on the work to which president sadat had literally given his life. it was the first time, but by no means the last time that our unlikely partnership ruffled feathers in the washington

establishment. now, honesty and truth telling were synonymous with the name jimmy carter. those traits were instilled in him by his loving parents, lillian and earl carter, and the strength of his honesty was reinforced by his upbringing in the rural south poised on the brink of social transformation. he displayed that honesty throughout his life as a naval officer, state legislator, governor, president, world leader. for jimmy carter, honesty was not an aspirational goal, it was part of his very soul. now i think jimmy wrote more books than any former president. once asked if he really enjoyed

writing he replied with that familiar twinkle in his eye, it beats picking cotton. but i think he enjoyed writing for another reason. as an author, he was under no pressure to tailor his opinions to some political constituency or potential contributor. now both of us had experienced the harsh reality that defeat at the polls can be painful. but we also came to know a more important consequence. political defeat and writing can also be liberating. it frees you to discuss topics that aren't necessarily consistent with short-term political popularity.

now, jimmy learned early on that it was not enough merely to bear witness on a pew in a sunday morning inspired by his faith. he pursued brotherhood across boundaries of nationhood, across boundaries of tradition, across boundaries of tasks. in america's urban neighborhoods and in rural villages around the world, he reminded us that christ had been a carpenter and in third world villages he successfully campaigned not for votes, but for the eradication of diseases that shamed the developed world as they ravaged the undeveloped one. now, of course, not all of jimmy's time was spent building houses, eradicating disease, brokering cease fires, monitoring elections. while jimmy is probably the only

former president to conduct a weekly bible class, i know for certain he is the only former president to perform a duet of on the road again with willie nelson. [laughter] georgia wasn't just on jimmy's mind, it was in miss blood. however far he traveled, he never forgot where he came home to or where now in the end he would finally come home to. of the many things jimmy and i had in common, the most important is this, we both married way above ourselves. way above. with jimmy every step of the way was his first lady from plains and a life rich with blessings,

none was greater for jimmy than the love he shared with ross land and the love the two of them shared with their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. like jimmy roseland was -- she is indeed a true citizen of the world. she became a beloved friend to my wife, betty and me and to all the ford family. while the carter and ford men were decidedly mixed record when it came to lobbying congress, roseland and betty were unbeatable in their advocacy for millions of people whom they brought out of the shadows of despair and shame.

now is the time to say goodbye -- our grief comforted with the joy and the thanksgiving of knowing this man, this beloved man, this very special man. he was given the gift of years and the american people and the people of the world will be forever blessed by his decades of good works. jimmy carter's legacy of peace and compassion will remain unique as it is timeless. the entire ford family we extend our love to you. and we add our prayers to the prayers of tens of millions of people around the world. may god bless and watch over

this good man. may he grant peace to the carter family as they say goodbye to a man whose life was lived to the fullest with a faith demonstrated in countless good works, with a mission richly fulfilled, and a soul rewarded with everlasting life. as for myself, jimmy, i'm looking forward to our reunion. we have much to catch up on. thank you, mr. president. welcome home, old friend.

>> my father wrote this in 2015 and clearly he edited it a couple times since then but here we go. today we join in sadness to honor our dear friend president carter for his years of principled and decent leadership and courageous commitment to civil rights and human rights. you remember the emergence of jimmy carter on the national stage. in particular his 1971 inaugural address. for the first time a georgia governor called for a commitment to the traditions of martin luther king junior and for the decency that has leadership

stood for over his lifetime. i was surprised when then candidate carter asked me to join him as his running mate in 1976. he amazed me then as he has every year since. he, of course, was brilliant. he also had a great sense of humor. and while we had only four years in the white house, he achieved so much in that time. it stood as a marker for americans dedicated to justice and decency. carter was a man of his word. i remember when he talked about the concept of the vice presidency. i told him i would like to do it and had only two requests. i wanted to make a real contribution, and i didn't want to be embarrassed, as many of my

predecessors have. he agreed, welcomed my full participation and directed his staff to treat me as they would him. he was very careful to protect me from the frustration and too often humiliation that had cursed the lives of many vice presidents. i want to thank the president for the good choices he made with his key personnel. we don't have time to mention many of them, but stu ice en stat comes as close to possible as rival president carters formidable work ethic. hamilton jordan and jody powell were blessing every day to me, to the president, and to the nation. one of the things that dawned on me during the course of our time together is how well we worked together and how we understood

each other. i think one of the realities was that carter was a devout christian who grew up in a small town and active in his faith for almost every moment of his life. i was also a small town kid who grew up in a methodist church where my dad was the preacher and our faith was core to me, as carter's faith was core to him. that common commitment to our faith created a bond between us that allowed us to understand each other and find ways to work together. he allowed me to take a leadership role on issues that never would have happened before. for instance he directed and trusted me to take a central role in trying to bring decency to the vietnamese and southeast asian boat people fleeing their country. with president carter's orders, the boat people were picked up by our great navy from their

flimsy boats that were capsizing and taken to safety. most became good american citizens working for a healthy and prosperous nation. joan loved her time as the second lady. and we have jimmy and rossland to thank for helping her championing the public arts and for just being so kind to her. these were good years for joan and i. president carter and i became very close friends. we often spent hours together throughout the day. we were working on real problems, not wasting time. the personal relationship we established while in office continued throughout our life. carter was farsighted. he put aside his short term

political interests to tackle challenges that demanded sacrifice, to protect our kids and grandkids from future harm. very few people in the 1970s had heard the term climate change. yet carter put his presidency on the line to pass laws to conserve energy, deregulate new oil and gas prices and invest in clean, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. it wasn't a perfect program.o p u.s. energy consumption declined by 10% between 1979 and 1983. in many ways, he laid the foundation for future presidents to come to grips with climate change. some thought he was crazy to fight so hard to pass these laws. but he was dead right and we

know that now. we also know that president carter elevated human rights to the top of his agenda. sometimes -- sometimes we forget how seriously he pushed to advance the rights of women. he proposed and signed the law extending the period for states to approve the equal rights amendment. he appointed women to head the departments of commerce, education, hud, and what is now hew. women on his white house staff played crucial roles in developing his highest priority, energy and environmental proposals and he dramatically increased the ranks of female circuit and district court judges, including ruth bader ginsberg. in all, in all, he appointed

five times as many women to the federal bench as all of the previous presidents had from the beginning of our country. two decades ago president carter said he believed income inequality was the biggest global issue. more recently in the 2018 commencement address at liberty university, he said i think now the largest global issue is the discrimination against women and girls in this world. he concluded that until stubborn attitudes that foster discrimination against women change, the world cannot advance and poverty and income inequality cannot be solved. towards the end of our time in the white house, the president and i were talking about how we might describe what we tried to accomplish in office.

we came up with a sentence which remains an important summary of our work. we told the truth. we obeyed the law, and we kept the peace. that we did, mr. president. i will always be proud and grateful to have had the chance to work with you towards nobel ends. it was then and will always be the most rewarding experience of my public career. thank you.

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