Trump: Jimmy Carter died a happy man because Biden holds title for ‘worst’ president in history
President Donald Trump and former President Jimmy Carter (Win McNamee/Getty Images and JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Donald Trump said the late President Jimmy Carter could die peacefully knowing he wasn’t the worst U.S. president because that title belongs to former President Joe Biden.
Trump issued the remarks to reporters during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited the White House on behalf of European nations to assist in brokering a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union.
"Worst administration in the history of our country," Trump said on Thursday. "Worse than Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn‘t the worst. President Joe Biden was."
The backstory:
Trump has routinely railed against Biden and the former president’s mental fitness, and the remarks coincide with multiple books detailing Biden’s cognitive function while in office. One White House aide said that staff isolated Biden and allowed his faculties to "atrophy" in the book, "Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History." It was released on April 8.
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The other side:
Trump’s comments come days after Biden slammed the Trump administration for creating so much "damage" during the early days of the administration.
"Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon," Biden said in his first public speech post-presidency on Tuesday. Biden delivered the speech during a disability advocacy conference in Chicago.
What's next:
On Thursday, Trump and Meloni said they were confident the U.S. and Europe could hash out a trade deal. Trump unveiled 20% tariffs on European Union goods coming into the U.S. on April 2, but he announced on April 9 the tariffs would remain at 10% for 90 days to allow the U.S. and the EU to strike a deal.
"There will be a trade deal, 100%," Trump told reporters. "Of course there will be a trade deal, they want to make one very much, and we’re going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it’ll be a fair deal."
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The Source: Fox News's Diana Stancy reported on this story out of Washington, D.C.