Jimmy Carter’s Grandson Gave Insight Into The Former President’s Friendship With Joe Biden

Jason Carter told USA Today his grandfather, Jimmy Carter, “has lived in Plains, Georgia, in the same house that he built in the 1950s.” He explained that he believes this makes him similar to President Joe Biden, saying, “I think, frankly, [Joe] Biden has that same kind of connection to who he was in, like simpler and more humble times despite having spent his entire life in Washington.” Even though Carter wasn’t an elected official after the 1980s and Biden continued in politics, the two had formed a friendship that went beyond their jobs in Washington, and they have stayed in touch over the years. Jason revealed that Biden recently wrote to his grandfather, “just to let him know that he’s continuing to think about my grandfather, pray for him.”

Biden and Carter’s relationship started in the 1970s. Biden was first elected U.S. Senator for Delaware in 1972 and Carter was a year into his Georgia governorship. Four years later, Carter was running for president, and Biden gave him his first presidential endorsement from a non-Georgia politician. In remarks in 2021 for the premiere of the “Carterland” documentary, Biden said that his endorsement of Carter was considered by some to “in the Senate thought it was youthful exuberance,” which Biden agreed with, but with a caveat: “Jimmy’s not just a bright smile. He can win and he can appeal to more segments of the population than any other person,” per Facebook. And indeed, Carter did beat incumbent Gerald Ford in 1976.