During a press briefing from the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump spoke about the passing of President Carter, commenting that he “died a happy man.”
President Carter, who passed away in December 2024, held the record as the oldest living president in American history. Widely respected across the political spectrum, he was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his dedication to human rights causes.
“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 came as he discussed his new tariff strategy, which he described as “reciprocal.” He said the initiative would lead to major economic gains and stand in contrast to the performance of past administrations.
“I think you’re going to see some fantastic numbers when this whole thing happens. It’s happening,” he said.
Trump also mentioned that multiple nations had reached out to explore trade agreements with the U.S., signaling a global interest in his administration’s economic policies.
“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 Office.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was in Washington on Thursday, working to represent the European Union in discussions surrounding the White House’s recently announced 20 percent tariffs on EU imports.
The European Union is currently subject to a 10 percent tariff on its exports to the United States as a result of a 90-day freeze on certain trade duties. However, EU officials have expressed optimism about finding common ground with the U.S. administration soon.
International economists and business leaders have expressed concern over the broader implications of the tariffs, particularly whether the American manufacturing sector is equipped to scale production quickly enough to satisfy demand.
Trump, however, defended the moves as essential corrections to past trade imbalances that he said disadvantaged the U.S.
“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.
{Matzav.com}