Here I am in 1976. I was 13 years old and in the eighth grade. From ages 9 to 12 I had been somewhat vaguely aware of the Watergate scandal, not because it was interesting (the long summer of the Watergate hearings made for very boring television), but because, from the adults all around me, I somehow understood that it was a very big deal. Once Richard Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford became the first and so far, only person not elected as either President or Vice-President to occupy the White House, the country was ready for a brand-new start.
Gerald Ford always seemed like a decent, although somewhat bumbling guy (as characterized by Chevy Chase and his famous falls when portraying President Ford on Saturday Night Live). However, he made a fatal error in pardoning Richard Nixon. Unlike the unique situation we have today surrounding Donald Trump and his crimes, both Republicans and Democrats alike felt that Nixon should have been punished for his role in the Watergate break-in and ensuing coverup. This opened the door for the relatively unknown Georgia governor, Jimmy Carter, to ascend to the Presidency in 1976. President Carter recently passed away at age one hundred, prompting me to look back and also to compare and contrast the leadership which existed in our country then and now.
As eighth graders, just on the cusp of high school, our social studies teacher, a stunning redhead named Mrs. Moore, made sure to include current events extra credit questions on every exam, incentivizing us to watch TV news and to read the newspapers. This was long before the advent of the internet or Fox “Entertainment” News. CBS news anchor, Walter Cronkite was regarded as one of the most trusted men in America. The only caveat Mrs. Moore gave us was “not to watch Good Morning, America, not because it was inaccurate or unreliable, but simply because it did not focus enough on “hard news” and included “too much fluff.”
So, on January 20, 1977, we watched James Earl (Jimmy) Carter, Jr. take the oath of office to become the 39th President of the United States of America. As it has been 48 years since I actually heard the speech (James Earl Carter, 1977) I had to re-read the text. Several things stood out to me, especially when I compared Carter’s speech to that of Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural address (Trump, 2017). Ironically, although Carter made no secret of his Christian faith and even quoted the book of Micah in his speech, I don’t recall that there was any fear that Carter would try to usher in an era of white Christian nationalism; whereas today, we have a decidedly un-Christlike figure in Donald Trump being embraced by the Evangelicals and even touted among some of the diehard MAGAs as being “sent by God.”
Carter talked about searching for “humility, mercy, and justice (James Earl Carter, 1977), while Trump is focused on revenge. Carter spoke of “building unity” with those of different races, religions and regions, while Trump seeks to dehumanize immigrants, claiming that they are “poisoning the blood of our nation” and that “getting them out will be a bloody business.” (Benen, 2024). Carter aspired to “ensure respect for the law and equal treatment under the law, for the weak and the powerful, for the rich and the poor.” (James Earl Carter, 1977) Trump, on the other hand is poised to escape all accountability for numerous crimes.
In a 1976 interview with Playboy Magazine, Carter nearly lost evangelical support for a remark that seems quaint by today’s standards. When asked if he had ever been unfaithful to his wife, Rosalynn, Carter maintained that while he had never been physically unfaithful, he had, according to God’s holy word, “looked at a lot of women with lust in his heart”, (Wiener, 2025) quoting Matthew 5:28 (Gateway Bible) which says, “…anyone who looks on a woman with lust in his heart already committed adultery.” In true Christian fashion, Carter went on to explain, “…God forgives me for it” and that he (Carter) would not condemn anyone else who had sexual relations with someone other than his or her spouse. (Wiener, 2025). One of Carter’s harshest critics for those remarks was Moral Majority leader, Jerry Falwell, Sr., which now seems remarkably paradoxical given the sexual scandal involving Jerry Falwell, Jr., his wife, Becki, and Giancarlo Granda (Roston, 2020). Forty years later, evangelicals were more than willing to give a pass to Donald Trump even after the revelation of the Access Hollywood tape, in which an unremorseful Trump speaks in graphic terms about doing much more than “lusting in his heart” (Trump D. , 2005).
What is truly ironic, however, is that both Carter and Trump ran as “Washington outsiders.” However, their “outsider status” has been manifested in wildly different forms. Trump, an unrepentant braggart, intoxicated by power and money, in inexplicably revered by the MAGA crowd, many of whom profess to be Christians and is certainly unlike any politician we have seen before. By contrast, Jimmy Carter remained a peaceful, forgiving, deeply religious man, committed to ensuring human rights to the least of those among us. My mother, who lived to see every President from FDR to Donald Trump, always said that Jimmy Carter was one of her favorite presidents (along with Harry Truman for his bold move in desegregating the military and Barack Obama). She lamented the fact, however, that Jimmy Carter was simply “too much of a gentleman for Washington” and as the world prepares to say goodbye to this highly intelligent, yet loving and humble man, I have to admit that she was absolutely right.
Works Cited
(n.d.).
Benen, S. (2024, September 9). On Deporations, Trump Expects a “Bloody Story” in Second Term. Retrieved from MSNBC: https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/deportations-trump-expects-bloody-story-second-term-rcna170250
Gateway Bible. (n.d.). In Matthew. New International Version.
James Earl Carter, J. (1977, January 20). Inaugural Address of Jimmy Carter. Retrieved from The Avalon Project: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/carter.asp
Roston, A. (2020, August 24). The Falwell Affair. Retrieved from Reuters Investigates: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-falwell-relationship/
Trump, D. (2005). Donald Trump Makes Lewd Remarks About Women on Video. (B. Busch, Interviewer)
Trump, D. J. (2017, January 20). Full Text: 2017 Donald Trump Inaugurion Speech Transcript. Retrieved from Politico: https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/full-text-donald-trump-inauguration-speech-transcript-233907
Wiener, R. G. (2025, January 5). Playboy “Adultery in My Heart” Interview Nearly Sank Carter’s Campaign. The Washington Post.
quietlyradical 