Jimmy Carter served as the 39th president of the United States during one term from 1977 to 1981. Even though several controversies marked his presidency, he remains a popular figure thanks to his extensive history of humanitarian work after leaving the White House. Even as he was well into his 90s, Carter continued working and advocating for charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity.
Considering his long and interesting life, it's no surprise that numerous rumors about the former president have popped up on the internet over the years. Today, we're looking at some of those rumors and figuring out what's fact and fiction.
From nuclear near-misses to questionable quotes, here's the truth about Jimmy Carter!
Jimmy Carter was the first president to embrace solar energy in the White House, placing 32 panels on the roof years before they became fashionable. They were installed in 1979 and were used to heat water in the White House.
However, the panels didn’t stay around for too long. After Carter left office, his successor, Ronald Regan, took down the solar panels in 1986. They were installed again during Barack Obama’s presidency, but it’s unclear if they are still on the White House roof today.
Jimmy Carter is well-known for his work with Habitat for Humanity and has been active in the organization since the 1980s. When he sustained an eye injury after a fall during a build, people assumed he would take some time off to recover.
However, the former president had other plans in mind! A day after receiving 14 stitches for his injuries, Carter was back on site working hard to get the home built. The fact that he was 95 at the time just makes this story all the more inspiring!
At the time of her death in 2023, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, had been married for a whopping 77 years. Their sweet, long-lasting relationship is currently the longest in American presidential history!
Carter’s mother was actually the nurse who delivered Rosalynn, and the two first met just a day after she was born when Carter was just three years old. The two began dating decades later, in 1945, and by 1946, the two were married, and the rest is history!
In 2018, a post went viral on Facebook with an alleged quote from Jimmy Carter stating that “America has no functioning democracy at this moment.” Considering the timing of the post, people naturally assumed that this was in reference to the Trump presidency.
However, this quote attributed to the former president first appeared in the German newspaper Der Spiegel in a 2013 article, which insinuated that the quote was in response to the Edward Snowden whistleblower controversy. Despite this public assertion, no definitive evidence has been put forward that Carter actually said these words, whether in 2013 or 2018.
It’s always important to double-check your facts! Fox News learned this the hard way when it published an erroneous article stating that Jimmy Carter had passed away in November of 2017 despite the fact that he was still alive and well at the time.
Considering his age, Carter is no stranger to health scares and rumors about his well-being, but as of February 2024, he’s still going strong. This makes him the longest-living president in American history.
There’s no denying that Ronald Regan’s win against Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election was a landslide victory. In both the popular vote and electoral votes, Carter was clobbered. Were polls able to predict this blowout result? Well … it’s complicated!
A mid-October poll from Gallup did show Carter holding an 8% lead over Reagan, but other polls had conflicting results. Gallup explained the error in the polling by pointing out that the one-and-only debate between the two men occurred after this poll was taken, which swayed voters to Reagan’s side.
In 2016, a social media post went viral with an alleged quote from Jimmy Carter: "The novelty of electing a woman president should not outweigh the duty of electing an honest president.” However, there’s no evidence Carter actually said this.
The exact origin of the quote is unknown, but it first appeared in an online forum in 2016. Considering that no one has ever corroborated its origin, it’s highly unlikely that the former president said these words.
The Iranian hostage crisis lasted for more than a year, from 1979 to 1981, after more than 50 American nationals were kidnapped by supporters of the Iranian Revolution. In response to this crisis, President Carter announced several sanctions against the country.
One of those sanctions included a refusal to reissue or issue new visas to Iranian nationals, except in specific extenuating circumstances. Carter’s executive order invoked the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
Jimmy Carter is no stranger to fake internet quotes, including this one: “If you don't want your tax dollars to help the poor, then stop saying that you want a country based on Christian values. Because you don't!.”
While that sounds like a sentiment that Carter might endorse, it’s easy to prove that he didn’t actually say those words – because we know who did! The quote comes from comedian John Fugelsang, who said it on a 2013 episode of the TV show "Viewpoint."
In 2021, stories about Jimmy Carter helping avert a nuclear meltdown began to spread on social media. While this may sound like a classic internet tall tale, this is one unbelievable story that’s actually true! Carter did indeed help stop a disaster while he was still a lieutenant in the Navy.
In December of 1952, an accident at the Chalk River nuclear reactor near Ottowa caused several fuel rods to melt. Carter and his team were brought in to help fix the disaster and bravely exposed themselves to dangerous levels of radiation to do so. Despite the danger to his health, Carter described the event as an “exciting time.”