Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jason said the 99-year-old former 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: “Dad is holding up, he’s hopeful and while 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 on my grandfather’s legacy.”
He continued: “She knows what is right and she fights for it. She understands that leadership is about service, not selfishness. That you can show strength and demonstrate decency. And that you can accomplish much more with a smile than with a frown.”
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.
Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jason said the 99-year-old former president “wishes he could be here” at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) but “can’t wait” to vote for Kamala Harris for president.
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 don’t think any of us really understand what he’s doing right now,” Jason told Southern Living during a conversation in June. “We have to accept that fact, that there are things about the spirit that you just can’t understand.”
“He’s experiencing the world as best he can as he continues this process,” Jason, 48, added.
“I’m just trying to get there to vote for Kamala Harris,” Carter told his son Chip, his grandson Jason told the Constitution of the Atlanta Journal newspaper.
Carter will turn 100 on Oct. 1, just over a month before Harris faces Donald Trump in the presidential election.
Former President Jimmy Carter has revealed that he hopes 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 eldest grandson Jason (left) revealed that the 99-year-old former president is no longer awake every day after 16 months in hospice care at home.
In recent days, Jason Carter said his grandfather has become “more alert and interested in politics and the war in Gaza.”
Even in his 90s, Carter remained active. He was often seen building houses and teaching Sunday school at his Baptist church, as recently as 2020.
The former commander in chief moved into a hospice facility at his home in Plains, Georgia, which he built with Rosalynn in 1961.
“(Plains) is the place that has given him the most support and it’s the only place he could go through this stage of his life,” said Jason, who lives in Atlanta. “It’s his home in every sense and he really valued that time and that support.”
The Carters gave their property to the National Park Service and, when he dies, they plan to turn his 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 sight since deciding to end medical intervention.
He will be buried next to her when he dies.