President Trump said his predecessor, former President Carter, died “happy” during a Thursday presser in the Oval Office.
Carter died in December of 2024, earning the title of the longest living president in United States history. The former president from Plains, Ga. was revered by politicians on both sides of the aisles and earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote awareness about human rights.
“Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn’t the worst president, Joe Biden was,” Trump told reporters.
The president’s remarks were made in reference to his reciprocal tariffs, which he’s promised will boost the country’s economic growth by historic numbers in stark contrast to previous administrations.
“I think you’re going to see some fantastic numbers when this whole thing happens. It’s happening,” he said.
Trump previously said dozens of countries were calling to make a “deal” with the U.S. regarding efforts to improve trade relationships.
“Now, everybody wants to make a deal and if they don’t want to make a deal, well, make the deal for him because that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump said in the Oval.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was present at the White House on Thursday to help broker a trade agreement on behalf of the European Union (EU) in response to the president’s 20 percent tariffs on goods from member nations.
The EU is currently paying 10 percent on U.S. exports due to the Republican’s 90 day pause on levies, but leaders have shared that they hope to reach an agreement with Washington soon.
Global concerns have been raised regarding the impact tariffs will have on the international market while American CEOs and economists have questioned if the country’s manufacturing industry can rapidly grow to meet consumer demands.
Trump has maintained that changes were made to ensure the U.S. was not treated “unfairly” as he claimed happened in previous years.
“I think we’re going to do even better this time because you will see that the numbers that we’re taking in are astronomical, we’re taking in a tremendous amount of money with the tariffs,” the president told reporters.
“We were treated very unfairly and the countries are having a hard time getting used to the fact that they can’t do that to us anymore because we have a real president. We have a president that understands what it’s all about,” he added.