Topline
Former President Jimmy Carter has asked President Joe Biden to deliver his eulogy after he dies, Biden revealed on Monday, speaking about his predecessor’s health at a fundraising event as Carter, America’s longest-living president, receives hospice care at his Georgia home.
Biden said Carter asked him to deliver a eulogy after he dies.
Key Facts
Biden said Carter “asked me to do his eulogy,” during the fundraiser in Rancho Santa Fe, California, according to media reports.
“I shouldn’t say that,” the president added.
Biden shared that he recently spent time with his predecessor and said Carter’s health has “finally caught up with him.”
He said clinicians were able to keep Carter “going for a lot longer than they anticipated because they found a breakthrough.”
It’s likely Biden was referring to Carter’s battle with cancer in 2015, when he overcame a form of advanced melanoma that had spread to the brain.
Carter’s diagnosis was previously considered a death sentence but he recovered with the help of a new, cutting edge drug.
News Peg
Carter began receiving hospice care at his home in Georgia last month, the Carter Center announced last month. Carter has “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family,” the center said, noting the decision follows a “series of short hospital stays.” Hospice care typically provided for people nearing the end of their lives and is geared towards maximizing comfort and support, rather than treatment. Life expectancy for those receiving hospice care is generally not expected to exceed six months.
Key Background
Carter served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. At 98, he is the oldest living U.S. president in history. The former Georgia peanut farmer has enjoyed a longstanding friendship with Biden that has spanned decades. Biden, then a senator, was the first elected official outside of Georgia to endorse Carter for president in 1976 and
Tangent
At the event, Biden also spoke about the cancer “moonshot” initiative he revived last year. He originally led the project as vice president and it aims to cut the cancer death in half over the next 25 years.
Further Reading
Cancer Will Cost U.S. $5.3 Trillion By 2050, Researchers Estimate (Forbes)
How Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden built an enduring friendship (Axios)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/03/14/biden-says-jimmy-carter-asked-him-to-give-his-eulogy-after-he-dies/