his calls trying to get votes on various issues, 30 seconds the call would last. no pleasantries. he invited a couple powerful senators to play tennis on the white house court and then he said goodbye have a drink. >> he saw his constituency as the people who voted for him. that's what he had to do. deal with the issues of the people who voted for him. he didn't see the need to work with washington to play the games of washington to get it done. >> they got a lot more done. many bills were passed and signed. >> is a chance to write the record at least. this opportunity just over lining here. president jimmy carter, 100 years old. the beginnings of his state funeral in washington, d.c. is what you been watching. that will do it for me today. deadline white house will continue our coverage.

hi there. it's 4:00 here in new york and in washington, d.c. former president jimmy carter returns to the nation's capital for the final time happening right now, a funeral procession down pennsylvania avenue to the united states capital. the late president and a horse drawn carriage accompanied by members of his family with a military lining the street. he will lie in state at the u.s. capitol for the next day and a half ahead of a formal state funeral taking place on tuesday. a service at the u.s. capitol is expected to start in just a few minutes. we will bring that to you live in its entirety. vice president kamala harris will deliver a eulogy for former president carter. you can see a birds eye view of the capital here where people will be able to pay their respects. the pageantry of today is a stark contrast to the humble

tone that president carter struck throughout his presidency and throughout his entire life going so far as to ban the playing of hail to the chief when he was president only to relent when his advisers convinced him it was just a part of the job of being president. as the new york times reporter writes today, quote, all of that is ancient history. washington's focus on tuesday will be on the successes of mr. carter's presidency. the inspiration of his post- presidency and the decency of his character. that is where we start today with some of our favorite experts and friends. cheap white house correspondent for the new york times, plus presidential historian, our friend is here. he serves as the rogers chair and american presidency of vanderbilt university. joining me at the table for the hour, the president of the action network, the host of

politics nation, reverend al sharpton is with us. we will start on capitol hill with my colleague, nbc news capitol hill correspondent. >> reporter: hi. yes, what you can see playing out here is the military guard that is accompanying that casket of the former president jimmy carter up pennsylvania avenue. he's been on a horse-drawn case and that once carried the body of abraham lincoln many years ago. this case and is carrying the presidents casket, it was put on their in front of the navy memorial. president carter, a veteran, a graduate of the naval academy. it will then make its way up here to capitol hill where he will lie in state. he will lie in state for roughly two days through thursday when the state funeral would take place. that is an opportunity for the public and

pay their respects. beginning at 7:00 tonight is when the public can begin the process through midnight tonight inside the capital and there will be opportunities again on wednesday and thursday before the state funeral. this is expected to be a solemn procession and then an opportunity, but once the presidents body arrives here on capitol hill he will then be carried up with the military guard into the rotunda and then a short ceremony will take place where as you pointed out vice president kamala harris will deliver remarks as well the new senate majority leader and the house speaker mike johnson as well. just the beginning of the washington portion of the remembrance of jimmy carter, the former president of the united states on what i should also point out is a bitterly cold day in washington, d.c. temperatures in the 20s with a whip in wind chill that is

making this quite an uncomfortable experience for the people out there, but it does not seem to be bothering them as they make this effort to honor the former president year on his last trip to washington, d.c. >> i want to bring peter baker in. there is this wonderful quote in your fantastic writing today. i want to read it to our viewers. carter's estate funeral in washington is full of ironies. he titled his 2021 biography of carter that outlier. he really was an outsider running against the washington establishment. he probably entered the oval office and declined more than one dinner invitation from the georgetown set. washington today, and all of its wintry bluster is a town fully committed and dedicated to honoring former president carter. >> the city didn't really honor

him necessarily all that much. definitely honoring him here in death. at the time he came in, as he said, as an outsider, a lot of presidents do. they run against washington, that's part of the campaign. most of them have been acclimating to washington. he kept that outsider state of mind, the outsider persona. he didn't really cater to the whims of the city, he didn't find it very appealing. he didn't much care at times either. it made his time as president a little harder but he kept true to his beliefs and true to his principal as he saw it. he didn't become another creature as he didn't want to become and i think that in the decades since then people have come to appreciate the best he represented and the snubs that

were seemingly so important back in the 1970s have long been forgotten. >> as he watch this, the legacy of his presidency being recorded by journalists and by his biographers, but an undeniable standard set and raised of his post-presidency and philanthropy and his character and generosity on full display. >> it's on full display. given the kind of respect that it should be given. we must remember that he came at a time that this country was in turmoil. we had just witnessed less than 10 years before the assassination of dr. martin luther king and robert kennedy followed by the vietnam war protest, then watergate which is why nixon had to resign just a couple years before this and it led to carter beating nixon's successor. he came at a very tumultuous

time and he was able to give an even hand to calm the country down and reassure and then he had his problems and his controversies, but i think the irony that i look at from my lens is that here was a man in the deep south, the first president from the deep south and i think 100 years. he was able to befriend and bring in close dr. martin luther king's family who, like i said, had been killed less than a decade before he was president. he was able to appoint one of the top lieutenants, the first black to represent the united states in the u.n. and last but he counted he said i want to live long enough to vote for molly harris who is going to speak today. his last vote, a boy from the deep south, a little town in georgia, his last vote was for a black woman from california. that tells us a lot about jimmy carter. >> vice president kamala harris has had a busy couple of days.

yesterday, the day that used to be unremarkable now forever changed because of the events of january 6th 2021. vice president kamala harris resigning yesterday over the certification of donald trump's victory and today delivering the eulogy, or a eulogy for president carter. any sense of the history that she's made over these last couple days and over these last four years? >> there is no doubt that there was a sense of how we would see kamala harris front and center in the weight of her electoral loss. she has not in any way shape or form backed away from the responsibilities that she has as vice president here in the last few days of the biden harris administration. she had an enormous responsibility here yesterday and presiding over the certification of her election

loss and i think objectively you could say she did that with dignity and grace as many democrats went to great lengths to make sure the american people understood they were not happy with those results, that they believed the democratic process needed to move forward and the american people had spoken. she has a very prominent and important role here today to be the voice of the administration honoring the legacy of a former president in a setting as public as the one we are witnessing right now. of course, resident biden will speak at the funeral on thursday, the role the vice president will play here in this very reverend and important stage of the honoring of a former president here in the rotunda, the capital is very important. it's of this opportunity that the american public has as well to come and pay their respects inside the hallowed halls of

the u.s. capital and be close to the former president as he lies in state. it's an important part of this process and the grieving process for the american public. i've had the opportunity to experience this when george h. w bush was lying in state here. it's remarkable to see the volume of americans that come through and take the opportunity and to just witness kind of the celebratory atmosphere that you have in a setting as beautiful and reverent as the rotunda in the united states capital is a special one. kamala harris has that opportunity. to give a sense of what we will witness here, after the case and military guard make their way up here to the east front of the united states capital they will park itself in front

of the steps on the east front and there will be a series of military members from each branch of the military that will be set up in different spots here on the east front. and then the body bears as they are described representing all of the different branches of the government, i should say of the military. eight different members will take the casket off the case and and then march up the steps of the east front of the capital in a regimented cadence. i told you'll be able to hear them a call that cadence out as they make their way up the capital steps. we can actually see now in the east front the beginning of this procession. what you're seeing now they have made their way to the east front of the capital and you can hear the military band beginning to play the music in honor of the former president.

we are getting very close now to the point where we will begin to see that process of the former presidents casket being taken up the front of the east steps to officially lie in state at the rotunda of the united states capital. >> we have as a country a complicated relationship with brief, but we do, as a country, have a tradition of honoring american presidents to the best of our ability with the kind of pageantry that ryan is describing. what are your thoughts today? >> one thing is that president carter was the last american president to be sworn in on the east front. he is returning to the place where he began his presidential journey. four years later president reagan would move it to the west front, but those steps are the ones in which lincoln was twice sworn in, the second time

just five weeks or so before he was killed. that is the place where franklin roosevelt told us the only thing we had to fear was fear itself. it's a sacred place of the american story and i think pageantry like this, ceremony like this, is about remembering not just the individual, but the collective. it's about who we are as a country. it's about we the people. you know, president carter was a devotee, a believer in both christianity and the american civic religion. the notion that we do have scripture, thomas jefferson's declaration of independence, we do have profits, many of whom john

lewis was one who laid in state not long ago. we have martyrs like dr. king and it's about the story of both who we are and who we would like to become. i think this moment is about jimmy carter, but it's also about the country he led and the principles that are still, though somewhat under siege, still live in the hearts of so many. >> say more for us if you will about the story that president carter i think hoped his presidency would tell. he was famously candid. a speech that is shorthanded as a malay speech, a word he never

uses is eerily president. president carter says to the country i want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to american democracy, i do not mean our political and civil liberties. they will endure. i do not refer to the howard strength of america, a nation at peace tonight everywhere in the world with unmatched economic power and military might. the threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways, president carter said. it's a crisis of confidence. he was someone with the confidence and courage and perhaps the faith to tell the truth to the american people, a truth that maybe the american people weren't always ready to hear. >> that's right. one of the ironies of president carter's term was that it would end with the election of someone who embodied confidence, who embodied the national will and a man who i think in the fullness of time looks more and

more like a towering figure and that is ronald reagan. president carter diagnosed the problem to some extent from the historical point of view. peter can check me on this. president reagan may have helped solve it. we had a diagnosis and then we had a treatment. you can't have the treatment without the diagnosis. i think what president carter embodied, really, was a realistic yet hopeful vision not just of america, but of human nature. the epigraph he chose, the opening quotation he chose for his book, why not the best, which was a campaign book published in 1975 was from a protestant theologian who wrote and president carter quoted that

the sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world. let me say that again. the sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world. it's a recognition that we have a duty to make the world that we confront better, but also that our capacities are limited on this side of paradise and i think that kind of realistic view may not move a crowd, but it has the virtue of being true and i think that president carter, for all of the substantive issues that one can have with him, understood that the country has a soul. the country has good days and bad days, but the essential element,

the oxygen of the national experiment is a devotion to trying to establish justice in a sinful world. >> there is a beautiful example of president carter doing just that in his own words. i want to check in with my control room before i play former president carter telling that story. are we able to roll that or do we want to listen in a little bit? okay. peter baker, i'm going to wait a second so i don't miss any of this pageantry or life events, but it is something that you i think, it is an event you've written about as well and it is president carter describing attending the george w. bush library dedication in 2013. i know you were there that day, i was as well. still doing this work, trying to establish justice with his

every breath as a president and former president. peter baker, this is live from washington, d.c., a town in the midst of a major transition of its own as we talk about the transitions of president carter's times. how does the election that's just been had hangover or color any emotion on this day today? >> well, you're right. it's a town in transition between two very different presidents. in some ways there's a comparison made to that in 1981 when you had a one term democrat who lost office in part because of inflation and because of other issues like that and being succeeded by somebody he didn't necessarily have great respect for, but who had been more successful politically, someone who had been an entertainer and appealed to a populist discontent with

washington, but this is a very different era. as much as carter and reagan didn't see eye to eye there was still a belief that time immigrants and republicans could work together when re- election was over. there was an opportunity for common ground. not on everything but on important things. reagan worked with the democratic house to achieve many of his priorities and some of his priorities were things he inherited from carter. carter was the one who started the military buildup for instance after the soviets invaded afghanistan. reagan accelerated and got credit for it. carter appointed head of the federal reserve and tamed inflation that happened on reagan's watch which he benefited from. at the time it's just a different moment today. it's hard to think of any collaboration between biden and trump, the two parties are so at odds with each other, maybe we will be surprised and though come together in the days to come, but it feels like a

different moment. >> are we able to roll the sound of president carter at the george w. bush library dedication talking about his post-presidency work and how he advised the incoming president? okay, let's play that. >> in 2000 sma remember there was a disputed election for several weeks and finally when bush became president they have the inauguration in washington on schedule and i think my wife and i were the only two volunteer democrats on the platform. george and laura afterwards came up and thanked us for coming. so, he said if there's anything i can do for you let me know. it was a mistake he made. i said mr. president, the programs in 35 countries in the world and the worst problem now is a war going on between north and south sudan. millions of people have been killed and i

would like for you to help us have a peace agreement there. in a moment he said i'll do it. blink and i'll miss your security adviser. he said i haven't chosen them yet. give us three weeks. three weeks later i came up and president bush kept his promise . he appointed our distinguished senator from missouri and a great general. in january of 2005 there was a peace treaty between north and south sudan that ended a war that had been going on for 21 years. george w. bush is responsible for that. >> there's a humility and a grace and devotion to what you just described. a devotion to justice. about

which president carter was relentless. that story seems to capture all of that. >> it does. also, on that day and dallas, president carter talked about arguably one of the most significant public health gestures work programs in american history. it's president george w. bush's , it's the president's emergency plan for relief. it's estimated that perhaps 20 million people are alive today and that was of a piece with what president carter and the carter center worked on. all of a reminder, i think that for all of the cut and thrust, for all of the getting and spending, for all of the moment to moment battles that define our politics, at our best the united states of

america has managed to make the world a better place and that requires men and women of character who are able, as jimmy carter and george w. bush who i've got to tell you, as you know, didn't have a whole lot in common, they saw a need, they addressed it and people are alive today because these very different american presidents managed to do something together and it didn't get a lick of attention i would say. a very technical historical term. it mattered. it mattered. i don't want to be nostalgic about this and say it will never happen again, but it has

grown ever more difficult, which means the men and women of character who seek power in the republic and amass it, we must, we must ask of them that they to rise above the minute to minute and recognize and i would say it is in their interest, because what would you like people like us to be saying about you at a moment like this? you knew how to throw a political punch? you knew how to post something vicious and bullying? or that you saved lives around the world that are now lives of purpose and love? >> president jimmy carter's post-presidency can be tied to president bill clinton's clinton foundation post-

presidency work, can be connected to george w. bush's bush foundation continuation of pepfar program he launched as president. the president elect for four years, i'm not cognizant of anything in the spirit of the clinton foundation the carter post-presidency and bush foundation. >> no. i think he clearly saw his post- presidency as not the end of his making a contribution. you know, there's a quote by mark twain, the two most important in life is defined when you are born and why you were born. i think jimmy carter figured out why he was born. he was born to serve and never stop serving. he saw politics as a tool to serve, the quote about politics is to get justice in a sinful world. i think he saw that. he's very religious and that

was not something he just used for campaign. he taught sunday school until he couldn't reach anymore and the times i'd been around him he would say how is? he says how is your life? i mean, he really believed in what he was doing and you could feel it. sometimes you can feel people more than you can hear them. he was a guy you could feel was the real deal. >> as president he taught sunday school? >> he never stopped and never apologized for it. in his post-presidency in georgia he absolutely knew the scriptures better than any preacher i'd known. >> talk about his love story. he had a partner through all of this. i think the most historic president and people that continue to make, those

presidencies typically have a partner and a love affair that they do that with. >> for 70 some odd years i believe they stayed together and help each other. they became like the parents. they worked together. it wasn't like he was out there during the building of homes. she was right there with him hand in hand so they were not only the first family when he was in the white house. they were the first family doing humanitarian things.

>> talk us through what we are seeing. >> the casket will come off the case and, the gun carriage. this has been a feature of

presidential funerals, great military funerals for generations upon generations. it will be carried up those steps which, again, are a historic space. it is where abraham lincoln was sworn in, it's where fdr is speaking to us in the depth of the depression and operated a new era in american life, it's where dwight eisenhower open his administration with a prayer, something that george herbert walker bush would also do. it's where john kennedy had asked us in a cry that jimmy carter heard and embodied that we should ask not what our country can do for us but we can do for our country. all of those moments unfolded in the space we are looking at

and president carter will be taken up and into the rotunda with those great john trumbull images of epic american moments, the signing of the declaration, toward washington's resignation of his commission, one of the great moments of putting country above self and we will lie on the stand where abraham lincoln held his mortal remains. it held president kennedy's, it was actually the kennedy family in the horrible hours after dallas in 1963 that sought out that kata fault and it came out of storage for president kennedy. it is where dwight eisenhower, lyndon johnson and ronald reagan and not too long ago john robert lewis of alabama, a

congressman from georgia reverend sharpton's good friend where he lay. i think it's worth for all of our understandable angst and political battles, it is worth taking a moment here and thinking about the possibilities of american life. the man lying there who will be taken in was born about as far away from the pinnacle of power as you could be born. he used the means of american democracy that were available to white men of his time, public schools, the united states naval academy, the united states navy, he used those means of ascent to amass power, not just for himself but

to change lives, the lives of other people. i think it is safe to say that president carter, he actually told me once that his favorite former president was george h.w. bush and that president bush, in a prayer that he read at his inaugural that he wrote out that morning on blue cards and kept them in his jacket pocket, said that the uses of power were not simply to make a great show in the world were a great name for oneself, but to use the purpose of power was to use power to help people. to use power to help people. we need not magnify, as ted kennedy said or robert kennedy, we need not magnify these men beyond what they were in life to acknowledge that in an imperfect world they made

things a little more perfect and that should be an inspiration and an aspiration for all of us. >> it is in these possibilities of american life that i imagine brings people out in droves, thousands of ordinary americans are expected to visit the capital to pay their respects. what, in these times, is that about in your view? >> i think there is a hunger for agency, if you will, it's not just for a simpler time. there is some of that i suppose, but i think there is a desire in the life of the country to matter and there is this sense that we used to do big things.

the american century, one of which though we were dragged into it, we defeated fascism and totalitarianism globally. we created the greatest middle- class the world has ever known. painfully and tragically, with tragic slowness, we expanded the declaration of independence, the implications of it for civil rights. the supreme court of the united states is just to the left of your screen. that's where, on the 17th of may, 1954 earl warren announced the opinion of the court unanimous in brown versus board of education which helped set in motion a painful, yet ultimately glorious chapter in

american life. a chapter that continues to unfold. so, to look at these images, to tell the stories it is not about the good old days that can't be recovered. one of the points of history, i would argue, is to realize that imperfect people in the past, sinners not saints, were able to make things a little bit better. down the mall from where president carter's remains are is where martin luther king stood on the 20th of august 1963 and told us about his dream only after jackson thought he was losing the crowd and she said tell him about the dream. saving the day. i always thought that was the women in the tomb of jesus who managed, that was for you, reverend. to announce good news.

these stories, it's not come sit around the fire and let's escape the present. they weren't escaping the present. there present was complicated. there present was tragic, there danger. they managed to build a country that we still, for all of our disagreements and disputes, believe is worth defending. jimmy carter was a general in that unfolding battle. we honor him, not for a particular policy, not for particular treaties, but we honor him for the arena and amassing power and leaving the world, even if it's just a

little bit better, that's what we are called to do in a fall and frail and fallible world. that's why these moments are so important. >> as i hear as only he can do and go through the whole historic journey it shows you why jimmy carter was so important. yes, there were other achievements he made, but we also celebrate he was us at our best. he showed how human beings could rise from absolutely nothing and get to the ultimate power and still not lose being in touch with themselves. he was still jimmy carter from plains. i think in many ways he told all of us you don't have to be corrupt or power-hungry or full of to make a contribution.

he did it and he lost, not only did he win, he probably lost with more dignity than any president i've ever read about because he never grumbled, he went back to plains and kept working. i think that we celebrate a man who really taught this country how to be something other than pursuing their own greed. >> i apologize to everyone in advance if i interrupt you so we can listen to the ceremony as it gets underway, but if you want to come back to ryan who rejoined us, tell us who else is speaking today and how they were selected. >> so, this is an event taking place on capitol hill. many of the people that we are going to hear speaking today represent that community. we know the vice president kamala harris will speak today but we will also hear from the current speaker of the house, mike johnson, and from senator

john tomb of south dakota who is the newly installed senate majority leader. he just took the job last week on january 3rd when republicans took back the senate majority. this will be a bipartisan event in the rotunda of the capital in a time of bitter partisan politics. we'll hear from both republicans and democrats and honoring a president that attempted to reach across the aisle and it's worth pointing out that when jimmy carter took office he had majorities in both the house and senate. democrats controlled both the house and senate and he controlled the white house much like donald trump will have when he's inaugurated here on january 20th, controlling both the house and senate. the margins were different in the 70s than they are in this current era of partisan politics, but nonetheless this is an opportunity for republican leaders and mike johnson and john thune to talk about ways for the country to come together that we have

more in common than what we disagree about and perhaps use carter's legacy to explain that. nicole, we have a little bit of a delay in the ceremony as you can see. i can explain what's happening is we saw the members of the carter family that were trailing behind the casket as it made its way up pennsylvania avenue. they are in the process of making their way through the complex maze that is the united states capital to get to the top of those east front steps where they will stand at the top of those steps to help receive the casket once it makes its way up the steps and before it is then put there to lie in state inside the rotunda. that's part of what is taking this process a little longer than what we anticipated here. so, everyone standing out on the east front is very cold waiting for that to happen so

we can get to the next stage of the process. >> i appreciate that. i think everybody watching loves hearing everyone talk about the president and his legacy, but it is also interesting to understand the logistical challenges, especially for the presidents family. peter baker, i want to come back to you and your fantastic piece of reporting about president carter and this town and pageantry that has filled our screens all day long. the pageantry didn't start in washington, it started at the carter center and he will leave washington after he's honored by the public and by bipartisan members of congress. this opportunity to have these stories of the successes of this presidency told was very important to them to people who knew him and knew him as president and as a post- president. >> i think that's exactly right.

he was so venerated for his work after presidency and humanitarian work around the world, peacekeeping and democracy promotion, fighting disease that people contrasted that with his time in office. i think you've seen in the last few years a number of books by some mutual friends of ours to name a couple that the former president's domestic policy advisers were looking at his presidency and finding worth in his time in office, not just the failure of re-election and crisis in iran and so forth. jimmy carter, former president carter wanted that to be remembered, not just his time out of office. it's a remarkable expression of a life that was pretty full. imagine what he did over the course of that time and he will

be brought back to the cathedral ceremony on thursday. he will be flown back, on thursday evening when it's all said and done, he will be in a small family plot in the house he has lived in in plains, georgia since he and rosalynn built it in 1961. the only house they ever really owned. the only house they ever really shared. it's worth $240,000 today, a modest ranch house. four bedrooms. he didn't cash in like other presidents, he didn't go on corporate boards and give seven- figure speeches and all of that. we can appreciate why someone

to do that, that wasn't him. he not only talked the talk, he lived his values and i think the end of his journey in plains, georgia on thursday evening a contrast grandeur and majesty we are seeing we will see again on thursday at the cathedral. it speaks to the totality of his life in a way that is very powerful. >> let's listen in for a moment.

>> president jimmy carter in that famous speech we have been taking in again in the context of the times in which we live

said this, little by little we can and must rebuild our confidence. we can spend until we mdr treasuries and may summon all the wonders of science but we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources, america's people, america's values and america's confidence. if you stare at the capital and see this pageantry, it's impossible not to feel despair that this wasn't always the image of the capital we have stared at over the last four years. >> no, it wasn't. president carter understood that the country, like all of us, has a soul. in hebrew and greek the word soul means breath or life. it's as essential as breath as is to us. about four years ago i was privileged to spend a day with president carter and vice president mondale and we talked about the soul of america and i

asked him what is the central characteristic? without hesitation, president carter said e quality. e quality. the notion that all of us should have as president lincoln said an open field and fair chance to pursue lives of purpose and prosperity. not being blocked off by artificial barriers or hereditary power or be blocked because of arbitrary distinctions about the color of our skin or the makeup of our beings. but that we are all created equal in the image of god, we are there sanctified and r- value, are worth comes not from around us, but because someone around us could take it back, but from above and is therefore sacrosanct and that is the vision of reality that drives

our great faiths and drove jimmy carter. >> i think that is not only true, i think that is something we ought to stop d think about because he absolutely was one that was biblically based and he felt he was doing the work he was born to do. i think that because of that he was not only a good president in some sense, he became a great man in every sense. >> let's listen.

>> that was the 21 gun salute. this is obviously a shot inside the rotunda. supreme court justices in attendance, numbers of congress, former speaker

pelosi, family filing in. . >> since we been watching together, peter baker has noted that vice president kamala harris, former president carter was inaugurated, senator john thune was 16 and senator johnson expected to eulogize was about to turn 5. the span of a lifetime. >> peter baker, that note that additional reporting really brings to life the span and scope of president carter's life of service. >> it talks to the new

generation we are seeing. these are people that didn't actually experience the carter presidency as adults. it is a young looking crowd you see in the faces there, the secretary of transportation, you see a number of younger lawmakers, senators and congressmen who didn't experience that time knowing through history or recollections we are sharing with them. it is a striking thing how long and important a role jimmy carter played in the national stage that he has lasted until this moment. i wonder what they're thinking. i would love to read some minds there. if they're taking anything from this and if so what lessons do they draw or when it's all over with do they go back to their offices and put out more press releases?

there is one politician who doesn't remember president carter, that is president biden. he's not here today, he's traveling in california but he will deliver on thursday. the first democratic senator to endorse jimmy carter's run for president. he has a very real memory as a member of the presidents club he will give that extra force. >> there is a knock at the door that will signify they are about to bring former president carter in. there is vice president kamala harris. her husband. >> that is his son. .

you can hear -- what will happen after this moment of quiet reflection and honoring a man who gave his life to public service? are you still with us? >> i am. i think that one of the things you hope that a rite of commemoration can do is make the people who are currently in

the arena wonder what will people think of me when i leave the stage? can that be a source of inspiration, a spur, if you will, to giving a little bit in a world where we spend most of our time taking. time taking. ♪♪

>> bready the staff. ready. step. ready. step.

ready. down. . ready. face. forward march.

>> let us pray.

-- whose arms have found the restless. we thank you for the inspiration of a consequential and laudable life as we celebrate the legacy of james earl carter junior, the 39th president of the united states. we proclaim your generosity to this nation and world, for giving us the gift of someone with the ethical congruence to be salt and light to his generation. lord, he made the world more

palatable. we thank you for his passion, for integrity, his commitment to leave the world better than he found it and is exemplary with his love for his precious rosalynn. inspired by his great life, teach us to know you more clearly, to love you more dearly, and to follow you more nearly each day. we pray in your matchless name, amen. .

adam vice president, speaker, leader schumer, leedom jeffries, jeff amy and all the members of the carter family and distinguish gaffes. to -- maybe veteran, peanut farmer, governor of georgia, and president of the united states. a sunday school teacher, nobel prize winner, advocate for peace and human rights, and first and foremost, a faithful servant of his creator and his fellow man. a commencement speech he delivered at liberty university back in 2018, former president

jimmy carter told a story about going on a mission to massachusetts back in his younger days under the auspice of a southern baptist convection -- convention. during the trip, he was impressed by the success of the filler missionary and winning souls to christ. the mission was winding down and he asked him what made him so successful. he was a little embarrassed by my question. president carter recalled, but then he finally said, i try to have two loves in my heart, one love for god, and the other love i have in my heart is for the person who happens to be in front of me at any particular time. he was a statement -- that was a statement he never forgot. i think it is fair to say it is also a statement he lived by. president carter's term as president ended in 1981. for the remainder of his life, the longest post-presidency of any american president ever, he

focused on making the lives of his fellow man better. that meant things like the carter center, which, among other things, worse for the eradication of disease in some of the poorest areas of the globe. it meant things like his work with habitat for humanity to provide affordable housing for those in need. when i say his work with habitat for humanity, i do mean his work. jimmy carter knew that his status as a former president could bring attention to good causes. it is why he encouraged habitat to make use of his name and image. by simply lending his name or maybe attending a gala or two, president jimmy carter -- he was here to get down in the weeds and the dirt and he did that literally on numerous habitat builds, including one

in 1944 in my home state of south dakota. well into his 90s, he could be found with his hard hat and tools on construction sites doing the practical work required to get families into homes. the man did not come to be served, but to serve. jimmy carter did his very best to live according to calling of his lord and savior. today, i join all americans in mourning president carter and remembering his example. but i rejoice in the thought that he, together with his blood white, rosalynn, is now before the face of his father.

>> to the family, to jack, and jeff and amy and the entire quarter family, vice president kamala harris, members of the candidate, leader soon, my colleagues in congress, and my fellow citizens, we need -- meet in this hall to extraordinary man, one who not all the virtues of service and citizenship, as well as any other american. surrounding us are the statutes of those who gave their time, their energy, and their lives for the good of america. before us lays a man who now joins their midst as patriot, veteran, humanitarian, and the 39th president of the united states. when jimmy carter walked out on the east front of the capitol and took his oath of office , i was just four years old and he was the first president that i remember. looking back, it is obvious

now, to me, as an adult, why he captured everyone's attention. jimmy carter was a member of the greatest generation. he lived through the great depression. he did that on a farm in rural georgia. he knew the value of a dollar and a modeled thrift his entire life. as long as he was in office, he hated government waste. his father, an army veteran of the world war i era, taught patriotism to his children. eventually, his son, this young man from plains, followed his father's example of self- sacrifice and he joined the naval academy in the middle of world war ii. in the army, lieutenant carter learned on the legendary admiral -- to always do his best as he served on the first fleet of nuclear submarines. it is telling that today, they call it a top secret attack submarine that no worms the oceans, bearing the name of the

only president who served in such close quarters. carter's life and selfless service and his fight against cancer and his lasting contribution to his fellow man are all truly remarkable. whether he was in the white house or in his postpresidential years, as was discussed, president carter was willing to roll up his sleeves to serve and get the job done. we all know about his work with habitat for humanity, and that was mentioned. the origin story goes that it was in 1984, sorry, when he first became aware of the work. he was in new york for a frank's anniversary. the founder of the fledgling charity at the time, he called president carter and asked if you wanted to visit his site in brooklyn during his trip. carter agreed and he found his way down to the lower east side. standing on the roof of the dilapidated building, he looked out on the wealth of wall street to the south, to the power of midtown manhattan to

the north. and then he looked down and he saw an image he would never forget. an elderly woman cooking breakfast over an open fire in the rubble of the building. there, in the heart of the richest city in the world. the habitat for humanity worker that was there with him turned to president carter instead, if there is anything you can do, if anything i can do, let me know. the worker said, maybe you can send some volunteer carpenters from your church. the very next day, president carter called habitat for humanity and told him he was going to send some carpenters all right. he himself would be one of them. thus began his famous tradition of donating one week every year to build and restore homes for his fellow americans. it is remarkable to think that one of the 45 meant has served as president and one of the only 13 who held the role in nuclear age, would humble themselves to such service.

we all know as care for immunity -- in the face of illness, president jimmy carter brought life-saving medicine and in the face of conflict, he brokered peace in the face of discrimination, he reminded us that we are all made in the image of god. if you are to ask him why he did it all, he would likely point to his faith. i am reminded of his admission to live our lives as though christ were coming this afternoon. of his amazing personal reflection. quote, if i have one life and one chance, make it count for something. we all agree he certainly did. so, today, and his hallowed halls of our republic, we honor president jimmy carter and his family and his enduring legacy that he leaves upon this nation and the world.

>> leader thune, speaker johnson, later shuman, leader jeffries, members of congress, and distinguished guests, it is an honor to be with you this afternoon. and to jack, jeff, and amy and jason and all the other members of the carter family, on behalf of the american people, we offer our deepest condolences. with you today, i'm reminded of the enduring favorite hymn may the works i have done speak for me. today, we gather to celebrate the life of a man whose works will echo for generations to come. a man from plains, georgia who

grew up without electricity or running water and served as the 39th president of the united states of america. he lived every day of his long life in service to the people. president james -- james earl carter jr. -- i was a little girl when jimmy carter was elected president and i vividly recall how my mother admired him. how much she admired his strength of character. his honesty. his integrity. his work ethic. determination. his intelligence. and his generosity of spirit. we have heard much today and in recent days about president

carter's impact in the four days after he left the white house. rightly so. jimmy carter established a new model for what it means to be a former president. he leaves an extraordinary postpresidential legacy. from founding the carter center, which has helped advance global human rights and alleviate human suffering, to his public health work in latin america and africa, to his tireless advocacy for peace and democracy around the globe. jimmy carter was a president of the united states who was ahead of his time. he was the first president of the united states to have a comprehensive energy policy.

that included providing some of the first federal support for clean energy. he also passed over a dozen major pieces of legislation regarding environmental protection. more than doubled the size of america's national parks, including protecting our beloved redwoods in my home state of california. he was a president who, between the years of 1977 and 1981, appointed more black americans to the federal bench than all of his predecessors combined. he approved five times as many women. in the wake of watergate, jimmy carter passed historic ethics legislation to help rebuild america's faith in government.

jimmy carter, as president, was also a respected global leader. to be sure, the years of his presidency were not without international crises or challenges. but his legacy of global leadership is well-established. in asia, the institute of full diplomatic relations with china. he would later call it one of the most historically significant accomplishments of his presidency. and his legacy lives on in the middle east because there were is calm before jimmy carter became president -- israel and egypt had been at war numerous times. view thought peace could be achieved between them. jimmy carter did that. through his persistence and

perseverance, through his own shake police leave -- belief and the power of american diplomacy, he secured the camp david accords, one of the most significant, and durable peace treaties since world war ii. throughout the world, jimmy carter elevated the role of human rights in america's formann -- foreign priority and uplifted civil society in doing that work. jimmy carter was a forward thinking president with a vision for the future. consider his establishment of the department of energy. in 1977, which anticipated the central role it would play in addressing the climate crisis,

his creation fema in 1979, which enabled our imagination to mobilize a national response to disasters, which has helped countless communities rebuild and recover. and his founding of the department of education later that year, which elevated public education institutions and increased national standards for the education of america's children and future leaders. jimmy carter was that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty, and grace. recall the stories from the

1976 campaign that -- how he slept in the homes of his supporters, to share a meal with them at their table. to listen to what was on their minds. how, on their first trip for habitat for humanity, jimmy and rosalynn rode the bus with the other volunteers and when the group stopped for the night, to stay at a local church, jimmy and rosalynn gave their private room to a young couple who had put off their honeymoon to join the trip. and with the other volunteers, they then slept on the floor of the church. of course, his work to eradicate the vicious guinea worm disease that once disabled millions of people a year. it was one of the carter center's greatest try alms and jimmy carter, of course, giving

his nature, attributed its success not to his own leadership, but to the thousands of everyday africans who were on the ground, doing the work. throughout his life and career, jimmy carter retained a fundamental decency. and humility. james earl carter junior loves our country. he lived his faith and he served the people and he left the world better than he found it. in the end, jimmy carter's work and those works speak for him. louder than any tribute we can

offer. may his life be a lessen for the ages and a beacon for the future. may god bless president jimmy carter and may god bless the united states of america. ♪ my country 'tis of the, sweet land of liberty ♪ ♪ of the icing ♪ ♪ land where my fathers died ♪ ♪ land of --

♪ ♪ ♪ thy name i love ♪ ♪ i love thy rocks and rills ♪ ♪ thy woods and temple hills ♪ ♪ my heart with rapture thrills ♪ like that about ♪ ♪ let music swell the breeze ♪ ♪ and ring from all the trees ♪ ♪ suite freedom's song ♪ ♪ let mortal tongs

awake ♪ ♪ let all that breath partake ♪ ♪ let rocks their silence break ♪ ♪ the sound prolong ♪ ♪ our fathers' god to the ♪ ♪ author of liberty ♪ ♪ to thee we sing ♪ ♪ long may our land be bright ♪ ♪ with freedom's holy light ♪ ♪ protect us by thy might ♪ ♪ great god, our king ♪ ♪ my

country, 'tis of thee ♪ ♪ sweet land of liberty ♪ ♪ of thee icing ♪ ♪ land where my fathers died ♪ ♪ land of the pilgrims' pride ♪ ♪ from every mountainside ♪ ♪ let freedom ring ♪ ♪ from every mountainside ♪ ♪ let freedom ring ♪

♪♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪♪

♪oh, holy spirit, who did brood ♪ ♪ upon the waters dark and rude ♪ ♪ and bid

their angry tumble to cease ♪ ♪ and give for wild confusion peace ♪ ♪ oh, here us when we cry to thee ♪ ♪ for those in peril on the sea ♪ ♪ oh, trinity of love and power ♪ ♪ your children shield in danger's hour ♪ ♪ from rock and tempest, fire, and faux ♪ ♪ protected them wheresoever

they go ♪ ♪ thus, evermore shall rise to thee ♪ glad hymns of praise from land and sea ♪ ♪ oh dot -- ♪ ♪ amen ♪ -- your good and faithful

servant, james earl carter junior. reward him richly and grant him your own well done for his humble and honorable life, worth far more than the many accolades and attributions we have gladly given. may president jimmy carter now rest from his labors and be received into the embrace of your everlasting arms. when the ceremony and fanfare do this man of character and compassion fades into history, when the processions and parades have dispersed, leave with us, oh, god, the lasting impression and inspiration of a life well lived. igniting us the same passion for public service, the courage to champion the underserved, the strength to bear as faithfully the weight of the call to which you have called each one of us to do as justly,

to love mercy is unreservedly, to walk as humbly with you as we have witnessed in the testimony of president jimmy carter's life of faithfulness. we offer our prayers in the name of the one whom jimmy carter would have known to the the first and the last, the alpha and the omega, his rock, and our redeemer. amen. .

>> we have been watching the capitol hill service honoring president jimmy carter. the eulogy was delivered by speaker mike johnson, majority leader john thune, and vice president kamala harris . .

>> brian? you have been watching long with us. >> what an incredibly solemn and beautiful remembrance of the former president of the united states, jimmy carter. it was remarkable to watch it, given the polarizing time we are living in, to see the two leaders of the house and senate, both republicans, both who, in any given day, would've been an opponent of jimmy

carter were he still in the political arena, find the good in his service to this country and the common belief in taking care of hour -- others and using the power and the force of government for good. it was just kind of remarkable to see that. it seems less and less -- and our day to day lives, that we see these leaders in such prominent positions reach across the aisle and find common ground and you were able to hear that from both men. i for one of the things that struck me in harris' remarks with the fact that jimmy carter made the department of education, which was a significant accomplishment during his presidency and she talked about how the formation of the department of education raised a level of public school education across the country in all 50 states, making sure that

the standards were raised and that there were resources and opportunities for people in all walks of life or across the country, and, you know, the department of education is something that there is a lot of criticism around, particularly from republican politicians, some suggesting it away. i thought that was poignant that the vice president made that note. the other thing that is worth pointing out, nicole, as we watch this play out, is the symbolism of being in this rotunda and who else is honored in that rotunda and the role they played in jimmy carter's life. you have harry truman, the very popular democratic president who is someone jimmy carter very much admired and is thought to have pattern part of his presidency after of course, there was his political rival, gerald ford, the man he beat to win the presidency, and then they're very close relationship with the two men developed after he left the white house, kind of in the effort that they

made to show that you can put partisan politics aside for the betterment of the country, and both gerald ford inhumane treatment have statues inside the rotunda, which is a special honor for former presidents and former public officials and people that played a role in american history, so those are the things that stood out to me. the other thing i think is worth pointing out, nicole, is you saw the family go by the casket, some placing their hands on the casket. that will be very similar to what we see play out with everyday americans over the next couple of days as we the members of the supreme court take the same procession as well. anyone who is interested can come here to the capitol starting at 8:00 tonight and make that same procession passed the president's casket to pay their final respects. i think it is one of the most remarkable things that we do to honor former presidents and people of prominence in

american life, and that is available to everyone here over the next couple of days. that is kind of what stood out to me on what has been a very remarkable day on capitol hill. >> vice president kamala harris, just to pick up on ryan's point, said that as per quote, was in middle school may vividly remember how much my mother admired him. >> i thought that was very moving for her to talk about how she literally grew up because of what -- her mother's admiration, looking up to a man that had really shaped the presidency in a different way, and whose last vote was cast for her and in many ways, he helped open up and keep open a society where she, as a woman of color, could be the democratic nominee and be the vice president. i think the thing that struck me most about her eulogy was she, according to him, may my words speak for me and you almost, as a minister that has done a lot of eulogies, it is

-- the hardest job for a minister is to do a eulogy for someone who did not do anything common here you have a man that everybody could have used a lot more time, rather than people saying, i only have a half hour to do this because there is nothing to really say. jimmy carter will give us gears to say -- years to say on all -- it all. we heard from her eulogy, your from senator thune and we heard from johnson and from president joe biden thursday. the real unity done by jimmy carter was by jimmy carter. the life he lived. you do not have to fabricate anything. >> the word decency just rings out. it is almost like a cry for the

celebrated traits that is not in dispute in any way, shape, or form by anyone in these times. >> you know, i was thinking, if you think about the ark of this remarkable century of life, this is a man born into the depths of the jim crow south, who was nominated for president at a convention in new york in 1976, where barbara jordan was the keynote speaker and that remarkable moment where she says, high, barbara jordan, ma keynote speaker, that he is now utilizing -- she was a major party nominee and barely nearly the president of the united states and is in fact the incumbent vice president. it is a remarkable arc and no one person is responsible and

no one party is responsible. and a final note, what i would hope is that as we go forward, that leader thune and speaker johnson and all of us would remember both the spirit and the substance of the words they just spoke in the heart of the capitol when they go back to their chambers and when they go out to face the country. what they spoke of was a consistent commitment to realizing the declaration of independence and to making gensler the life of the world for we the people, not for a red state and not for a blue state, but for the people. that is what, at the end of this century of life, that is

what the country came to say about jimmy carter. there is no higher eulogy. there is no higher incumbent. but wouldn't we all want that? can't we all try to act in a way that we can at least have a shot at people thinking this way of us? >> know better note to end on than that one. i will say my thank you one final quote from vice president kamala harris during the eulogy. the former president jimmy carter -- she said this. quote, manfred plains, georgia, who grew up without running water or electricity became the united states of these united states. my profound gratitude and thanks to my partners over these last two hours. peter baker, ryan nobles, jimmy jam, and the reverend, thank you so much for spending this time with us.

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