It doesn’t look like former President Jimmy Carter will be joining current President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
Carter, a one-term Democrat from 1977-1981 who then lost to the Republican Ronald Reagan, pooh-poohed Trump’s reelection, saying “it would be a disaster to have four more years of Trump” while speaking during his wife’s annual report at the Carter Center this week.
Carter discussed issues he would like his foundation to address, including putting an end to wars, climate change action, securing human rights, working on treating people with more respect and constructively criticizing the United States,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The ideas, Carter said, are what he wants the 2020 Democratic primary candidates to focus on.
“If they do those things, I would probably vote for them. I don’t know who I will vote for, but I will vote for one of them,” Carter said. “I voted for Bernie (Sanders) the last time. But one of the major factors I have in my mind is who can beat Trump. Because I think it would be a disaster to have four more years of Trump.”
Carter has previously criticized Trump, saying in June that he believes he won the presidency with the help of Russian election meddling.
He also said it might be the last time he and his wife, 94 and 92 years old, respectively, might address the crowd.
Carter’s wife, Rosalynn, also criticized Trump, saying he encourages racism with some of his anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“I think we need a new president,” Rosalynn Carter said. “I am so disturbed about white power. He says he is not a racist and maybe he is not. But some of the things he says encourages racism.”
Carter did praise Trump’s seeming reluctance to go to war while tensions continually rise in the Middle East.
“Which is something I like about him,” Carter said. “Don’t ask me what else I like.”
Despite his distaste for Trump, Carter said he sees a bright future for the United States.
“I still have complete confidence that the United States, if given time, will resolve its problems,” Carter said. “We have always been able to do that in the past, whenever we faced difficult questions. The United States still has that innate strength.”
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