Biden says Jimmy Carter asked him to deliver eulogy

Then-Sen. Joe Biden, former president Jimmy Carter, and Jill Biden at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

President Biden said former President Jimmy Carter asked him to deliver his eulogy after he dies, per a White House pool report Monday night.

Driving the news: Biden made the comments while discussing the health issues of Carter, who's receiving hospice care, during a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser in Rancho Santa Fe, California, which was attended by about 40 guests.

What he's saying: "I spent time with Jimmy Carter and it's finally caught up with him," Biden said, according to the pool report.

  • "But they found a way to keep him going for a lot longer than they anticipated because they found a breakthrough," he added.
  • "He asked me to do his eulogy. Excuse me, I shouldn't say that."

The big picture: The Carter Foundation announced last month that the 98-year-old longest-living U.S. president had "decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care."

  • Kim Fuller, a niece of Carter's told Fox News Digital days later that the former president was in good spirits, "eating and talking."
  • The 39th president has overcome a series of health issues in recent years, undergoing brain surgery in 2019 and being treated for cancer in 2015, for which doctors later gave him the all-clear.

Of note: Biden and Carter have enjoyed a friendship that's spanned decades.

  • The first presidential endorsement that then-Gov. Carter received from an elected official outside of Georgia came in 1976 from a young Sen. Biden, per Axios' Emma Hurt.
  • In an endorsement message for Biden in 2020, Carter called him his "first and most effective supporter in the Senate" and "my loyal and dedicated friend."

Go deeper: How Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden built an enduring friendship

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.

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