Jimmy Carter Told Donald Trump: ‘china Has Not Wasted A Single Penny On War’
David Brennan, Newsweek
Former President Jimmy Carter told a church congregation this weekend that he had spoken with President Donald Trump about China on Saturday, and said the commander in chief was worried that Beijing had outpaced its global rivals.
The Trump administration remains locked in a costly trade war with China, though Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Saturday the end could be in sight. I think were hopeful that were getting close to the final round of concluding issues, Mnuchin told reporters, according to The Wall Street Journal.Meanwhile, military tensions remain over Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea and its continued insistence that the independent island nation of Taiwan will eventually fall back under Beijings control.
Throwing Away Four Decades Of Success
The year 1979 was tumultuous even by the standards of the Middle East. The Islamic Revolution, the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Arab fury at the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, Saddam Husseins accession to the presidency of Iraq, and the attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca threw the region into chaos and spawned radical new threats. Moreover, between the civil strife that followed the shahs fall and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis disdain for the corruption bred by Irans oil wealth, Iranian oil production collapsed to one-quarter of its prerevolutionary level. The resulting oil shock caused dramatic increases in inflation and unemployment throughout the Western world. Fuel shortages forced Americans to line up for hours to buy gasoline. Things were so bad that even Carter, whose inclination was to resist rather than embrace new military commitments, was forced to act.
Not long after the conflict between Iran and Iraq ended, Saddam mounted a challenge to the Reagan Corollary when his armed forces invaded Kuwait. The United States responded with Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, deploying more than 600,000 troops and roughly half of its worldwide combat forces to defend Saudi Arabia and liberate Kuwait. Whats more, the administration of President George H.W. Bush purposely destroyed much of Iraqs military power to diminish or eliminate Saddams ability to threaten the Gulf states.
Jimmy Carter: ‘illegitimate’ Trump Only President Because Of Russian Meddling
- Trump put into office because Russians interfered on his behalf
- Carter says investigation would show Trump didnt win in 2016
Jimmy Carter has called Donald Trump an illegitimate president who was helped into office by Russian interference in the 2016 election.
At a conference for his human rights organization the Carter Center, the former president said a full investigation would show that Trump didnt actually win the election in 2016.
He lost the election and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf, Carter added.
The event moderator, Jon Meacham, asked if that meant Carter thought that Trump was an illegitimate president. Carter then briefly paused and replied: Based on what I just said, which I cant retract, Carter said. The remark then triggered laughter in the audience and from Meacham.
Russias meddling in the 2016 election, and the Kremlins ties to Trumps campaign, were exhaustively investigated by Robert Mueller. In his 448-page report, submitted in April, the special counsel concluded there was not enough evidence to establish a conspiracy between Trumps presidential campaign and Russia. But he did detail numerous incidents of Russian interference, many of which have led to indictments.
Carter also called for Trump to condemn Russia for their actions and said the current president should admit that it happened.
Theres no doubt that the Russians did interfere in the election, he said.
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The Right Way Vs The Trump Way
In his own ignorant and idiosyncratic way, Trump manifests many of the issues that have been causing Americans to rethink the United States role in that region. He has promised to achieve an ill-defined energy dominance that will insulate the United States from a volatile world. He has repeatedly argued that nothing good can come of U.S. military involvement in the Middle East. His administration has publicly touted a shift toward great-power rivalry and the need for retrenchment in the Persian Gulfeven while insisting, at least in Syria, that a U.S. military presence is needed only for the oil. And while Trump has defended the Saudi regime against its growing chorus of critics, he has long said that the wealthy Gulf states should take up the burden of their own defense.
All of these conflicting tendencies leave Trump incapable of understanding the logic behind the U.S. commitments he inherited in the Gulf. Moreover, he has exacerbated the long-building tensions in U.S. policy by pursuing an Iran policy that is destabilizing, self-defeating, and crippling to the United States regional position. In a long list of problematic policies around the world, Trumps Iran policy may be his worst.
Jimmy Carter: ‘it Would Be A Disaster To Have Four More Years Of Trump’
During his and his wifes annual report at the Carter Center on Tuesday, the former president said he thinks it would be a disaster to have four more years of Trump, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The remark came while he was discussing issues he wanted his foundation to address which reportedly included focusing on putting a stop to wars, taking action against climate change and constructively criticizing the United States.
He went on to say that if any of the current Democratic presidential candidates do those things, I would probably vote for them.
I dont know who I will vote for, but I will vote for one of them, Carter continued. I voted for Bernie the last time. But one of the major factors I have in my mind is who can beat Trump.
Rosalynn Carter also took aim at Trump during the event on Tuesday evening, saying: I think we need a new president.
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, she added.
The former president did offer some praise to Trump during the event for what he perceived to be reluctance on his end to go to war. Which is something I like about him, Carter said. Dont ask me what else I like.
While discussing ongoing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Carter said he thinks we can resolve the issue diplomatically and that is what the president is inclined to do.
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What To Watch For
Gas prices have surged past $3 per gallon for the first time since 2014, but these kind spikes are not uncommon. Under Trump, for instance, gas prices peaked at $2.94 in June 2018. Under Carters predecessors, Nixon and Gerald Ford, the U.S. experienced long gas lines and high prices under Nixon because of the 1973 oil embargo.
Jimmy Carter Rallies America To Celebrate The Defeat Of Trump
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the next president and vice president of the United States. Early Saturday, after days of vote-counting following Election Day earlier in the week, major media outlets called the race for Biden after his victory in Pennsylvania became clear. No matter the swing states that had yet to be conclusively called by the major outlets, Bidens victory in Pennsylvania put him over 270 electoral votes and handed him the presidency. Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement of support for the new president-elect and vice president-elect following news of their victory.
Carters statement read as follows:
Rosalynn joins me in congratulating our friends President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. We are proud of their well-run campaign and look forward to seeing the positive change they bring to our nation.
NEW: Former Pres. Jimmy Carter congratulates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: “We are proud of their well-run campaign and look forward to seeing the positive change they bring to our nation.
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I hope there is an age limit . You know, if I were just 80 years old, if I were 15 years younger, I dont believe I could undertake the duties that I experienced when I was President, said Carter, who will turn 95 on Oct. 1.
He was 52 when he was elected to the presidency in 1976.
Age has been a hot topic leading up to the 2020 election, as the top three contenders for the Democratic nomination are all in their 70s Sen. Elizabeth Warren, at 70, is a few years younger than Biden and Sanders.
Though Carter didnt mention any of the candidates by name, Trump took his comments as a dig at Biden, telling reporters, He said that it was because Bidens having a hard time, theres no question about it, according to USA Today.
Relations between Trump, 73, and Carter have sometimes been cordial, with the two even sharing a phone call in June about the United States relationship with China. But Carter has been sharply critical of Trump as well, going so far as to question the validity of his presidency given Russias election interference in 2016.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carter said this summer that Trump called him to thank him for a letter Carter had sent him on the topic and to tell him on a private line that the Chinese were getting way ahead of the United States in many ways.
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Jimmy Carter Took Call About China From Concerned Donald Trump: ‘china Has Not Wasted A Single Penny On War’
David Brennan U.S.International AffairsDonald TrumpJimmy CarterChina
Former President Jimmy Carter told a church congregation this weekend that he had spoken with President Donald Trump about China on Saturday, and said the commander in chief was worried that Beijing had outpaced its global rivals.
According to Emma Hurt, a reporter for NPR affiliate WABE, Carter spoke of the call during his regular Sunday School lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
Carter, 94, said Trump was worried that “China is getting ahead of us,” and suggested the president was right to be concerned.
He told the congregation that Trump feared China’s growing economic strength. Economic modeling indicated that China would overtake the U.S. as the world’s strongest economy by 2030, and many experts have said that we were already living in what has been dubbed the “Chinese Century.”
Carter said he did not “really fear that time, but it bothers President Trump and I don’t know why. I’m not criticizing him this morning,” he added, to laughs from fellow churchgoers.
Carterwho normalized diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing in 1979suggested that China’s breakneck growth had been facilitated by sensible investment and buoyed by peace.
Before he left the pulpit, Carter noted, “I wasn’t comparing my country adversely to China. I was just pointing that out because I happened to get a phone call last night.”
‘tell The Truth For A Change’: Ex
3 Min Read
WASHINGTON – Former Democratic U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to cooperate with Congress impeachment inquiry, saying his refusal to comply with lawmakers requests has left Americans grappling for answers.
The Republican leader faces allegations he abused his office by pushing Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden. Earlier on Tuesday, the Trump administration blocked a key witness from appearing before three House committees, prompting a subpoena.
Tell the truth, I think, for a change, Carter told MSNBC when asked what advice he would give Trump.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing over Ukraine and has reacted to the inquiry with a flurry of posts on Twitter lobbing obscenities and insulting nicknames for Democratic lawmakers, who launched their impeachment probe two weeks ago.
While the Republican-led Senate now is unlikely to remove Trump even if the Democratic-controlled House backs impeachment, Carter said that could change depending on what the investigation reveals.
If the facts reveal an increasing number of things that he has actually done, then of course impeachment is possible and removal from office is possible, the nations oldest living former president told MSNBC.
Carter, 95, ran on a pledge of honesty and served one term in the White House from 1977 to 1981. He suffered from his own political controversies including a U.S. hostage crisis in Iran.
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Jimmy Carter: Trump Didnt Actually Win The Election
‘He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered’
Former president Jimmy Carter took aim at sitting president Donald Trump Friday morning, suggesting his presidency is illegitimate and that he did not actually win the 2016 election.
Presidential historian Jon Meacham interviewed the Georgia Democrat at a Carter Center panel on human rights hosted at Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia.
“Russia has been proven by our intelligence community to have interfered with one of our human rights, which is the right of free and fair elections,” Meacham asked. “What is your reaction? How should we deal with Russia?”
Carter responded that Trump should personally “condemn it and admit that it happened, which I think sixteen of the intelligence agencies have already agreed to say.”
“There is no doubt that the Russians did interfere in the election,” he continued, “and I think the interference, although not yet quantified, if fully investigated would show Trump didnt actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.”
“So do you believe President Trump is an illegitimate president?” asked Meecham.
Carter hesitated to answer the question, causing the audience to laugh. “Based on what I just said, which I cant retract,” he eventually said, to more laughter.
Success In The Middle East
In 1978, Carter brokered a Middle East peace settlement that actually improved relations between historic antagonists Egypt and Israel. While the region today still struggles with ongstanding political, religious and ethnic tensions, arguably it would have been worse if there had never been no Camp David Accords.
As the late author and educator Betty Glad of the University of South Carolina argued, the accords were substantial and historic: the return of the Sinai to Egypt, the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt, and a framework for guiding the subsequent negotiations on Palestinian self-governance and relationship to Israel.
Carters response to a failed US military operation to free over 50 Americans held hostage by radical Muslim students in Tehran, Iran in 1980 is another example of his strength of character. While it must have been politically tempting for him to double down, Carter instead opted to stand down. Rather than order another military strike against the hostage-takers, Carter instead sought a peaceful and diplomatic solution.
Taking this measured, nonconfrontational approach cost Carter a second term. His conservative Republican presidential challenger Ronald Reagan successfully, if inaccurately, portrayed him as a weak leader to American voters. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Carter handled the difficult loss with typical grace.
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