Jimmy Carter has been a former president longer than any man has — 37 years. Though his tenure in office was a disaster, he has made a fascinating career as an ex-president: teaching Sunday School and building homes with Habitat for Humanity.
It’s when he speaks out on politics that we remember how terrible his presidency was. As a result, we don’t often see the Democrats trot him out to weigh in on issues. But he spoke with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business earlier this week about the idea of impeaching Donald Trump over the allegations from his former attorney Michael Cohen that he ordered Cohen to pay hush money to porn stars with campaign funds.
Interestingly, Carter doesn’t fall in lockstep with most of the Democrats when it comes to impeachment. In fact, he thinks it’s a bad idea.
Former President Jimmy Carter: "I don't talk about impeachment. I think that's the wrong thing for Democrats to do." pic.twitter.com/ZNur9uCtPK
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) August 28, 2018
“I don’t talk about impeachment. I think that’s the wrong thing for Democrats to do. I think the outcome of the 2018 elections are just completely unknown now,” Carter told Cavuto, adding that he aims to help Democratic candidates “any way I can.” He said he hopes voters “will make the right choice” in November.
When Cavuto asked Carter about Trump’s assertion that the market — and thereby the economy — would suffer if the Democrats pursue impeachment, the 39th president disagreed. “I think the president has much less influence over the economy than is certainly publicized by the president himself,” Carter said. “I know when I was in office, some bad things happened with the economy. I never did feel that I was responsible for it.”
For what it’s worth, most experts tend to believe the same way, that the economy is much stronger than one man, even if that man is the president.
Later on, Cavuto and Carter discussed the political division among Americans today. Carter holds that, even though our polarized electorate is problematic, our nation is strong and resilient enough to move past difficult times like these. “I don’t have any doubt that basic principles of America and the basic status we have of equality between people will prevail in the long term,” he said.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Jimmy Carter on all three notions. Impeachment is a bad idea, but the economy wouldn’t suffer if the Democrats went through with it. At the same time, if this county could survive — and thrive — after the Civil War, the Great Depression, and the 1960s, we can get past this era of division.
It’s really something when Jimmy Carter turns out to be the voice of reason, isn’t it?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member