Member-only story

The Presidency, Donald Trump

Trump to Attend President Carter’s Funeral — Why?

John Dean
Dean’s List
Published in
3 min readJan 1, 2025

--

Funderal of George H.W. Bush. The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

At his “magnificent” New Year’s celebration at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump told reporters he will attend Jimmy Carter’s funeral on January 9. I wish the Carter family would respond by saying, “Thanks, but no thanks,” given the abuse Trump has heaped on Carter in the last dozen years.

I read one of President-Elect Trump’s social media posts made shortly after Jimmy Carter died last week — the post that referenced the “exclusive club” of people who have served as president. I found the suggestion that, as a former and future president, Trump can somehow understand the demands of the presidency offensive.

Screen shot from Trump’s social media platform.

Trump is presumptuous in granting himself admission to the “exclusive club” of presidents. He is not a typical or, in my view, a legitimate president. He lost the right to grant himself membership to that club on January 6, 2021.

If all America’s 44 former presidents not named Trump were alive, I doubt more than one or two of them might consider Trump a respectable colleague. (I’m thinking about Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson as possible exceptions.) The other presidents…

--

--

Dean’s List
Dean’s List

Published in Dean’s List

Dean’s List publishes information and opinion on politics, culture, the arts and life. Civility is a requirement. We cherish diversity, empathy, honesty, and kindness.

John Dean
John Dean

Written by John Dean

Writing on politics, photography, nature, the environment, dogs, and, occasionally, humor. Editor of Dean’s List.

Responses (33)