Biden says Carter asked him to do his eulogy

President Biden said Monday that former President Carter, who is in hospice care, has asked him to deliver his eulogy when he dies.

“I spent time with Jimmy Carter, and it’s finally caught up with him, but they found a way to keep him going for a lot longer than they anticipated because they found a breakthrough,” Biden said at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser.

“He asked me to do his eulogy,” he added.

The president then appeared to catch himself for sharing the information, saying, “Excuse me, I shouldn’t say that.” 

Biden was speaking to about 40 guests at a fundraiser in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., alongside Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), while on a three-day trip to California and Nevada.

Carter, the 39th U.S. president, entered home hospice care in Plains, Ga., on Feb. 19. At 98 years old, he is the longest-living American president.

Carter’s niece said on Feb. 27 that Carter still has “some time in him.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she didn’t have any calls to announce when asked earlier this month if Biden and Carter had spoken since the former president entered hospice care, adding, “when it’s time and appropriate, certainly that conversation will happen.”

“They’ve known each other since 1976. It’s a relationship that has spanned many, many decades,” Jean-Pierre said.

Biden was the first elected official outside of Georgia to endorse Carter for president in 1976. In 2020, Carter called the fellow Democrat his “first and most effective supporter in the Senate,” as well as a loyal and dedicated friend in his own presidential endorsement.