Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jason said the 99-year-old ex-president ‘wishes he could be here’ at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) but ‘can’t wait’ to vote for Kamala Harris for president.
Jason also gave a brief update on Cater’s health: ‘Papa is holding on, he is hopeful, and though his body may be weak tonight, his spirit is as strong as ever.’
‘For my grandfather, it was never about fame, recognition, accolades or awards. His legacy is measured by the lives he has touched and the good he has done,’ Jason said. ‘Kamala Harris carries my grandfather’s legacy.’
He continued: ‘She knows what is right, and she fights for it. She understands that leadership is about service, not about selfishness. That you can show strength and demonstrate decency. And that you can get a whole lot more done with a smile than with a scowl.’
Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jason said the 99-year-old ex-president ‘wishes he could be here’ at the Democratic National Convention ( DNC ) but ‘can’t wait’ to vote for Kamala Harris for president
Jimmy Carter has been in hospice care for a year and a half. In June Jason revealed that the elder Carter is no longer awake every day.
He said the decline began after the death of the 38th president’s beloved wife Rosalynn in November 2023 at the age of 96.
‘After 77 years of marriage… I just think none of us really understand what it’s like for him right now,’ Jason told Southern Living during a conversation in June. ‘We have to embrace that fact, that there’s things about the spirit that you just can’t understand.’
‘[He’s] experiencing the world as best he can as he continues through this process,’ Jason, 48, added.
‘I’m only trying to make it to vote for Kamala Harris,’ Carter told his son Chip, his grandson Jason told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Carter is due to turn 100 on October 1, days before Harris will face off against Donald Trump in the presidential election.
Former president Jimmy Carter has revealed he is hoping to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris in November
He was last seen in public at the funeral of his wife of 77-years Rosalynn Carter who died last year
Jimmy Carter’s oldest grandchild Jason (left) revealed that the 99-year-old former president is no longer awake every day after 16 months in at-home hospice care
In recent days, Jason Carter said his grandfather is ‘more alert and interested in politics and the war in Gaza‘.
Even into his early 90s, Carter was active. He was often seen building homes and teaching Sunday school at his Baptist church as recently as 2020.
The onetime commander-in-chief moved into hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia that he built with Rosalynn in 1961.
‘[Plains] is the place that has given him the greatest support and it is the only place where he would go through this part of his life,’ Jason, who lives in Atlanta, said. ‘That’s his home in every way, and he really cherished that time and that support.’
The Carters deeded their property to the National Park Service – and when he dies they plan to turn their home into a museum.
Carter was last seen publicly at his wife’s memorial events in November in a wheelchair and covered by a blanket but has largely remained out of view since deciding to terminate medical intervention.
He will be buried alongside her when he dies.