CGTN Europe interviewed Jonathan Alter, a historian and author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life.
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00:00Let's talk to Jonathan Alter, the historian who's written the book on the former U.S.
00:05President, called his very best, Jimmy Carter, a life.
00:08Jonathan, welcome.
00:09How should we remember Jimmy Carter?
00:12Well, I think we should remember him as a man of peace and a tremendous advocate for
00:21human rights around the world, who was a much better president, doesn't deserve to be on
00:28Mount Rushmore, our monument out west, but he was a much better president than a lot
00:35of people assume.
00:36And of course, he was an inspiring former president who redefined what former presidents
00:43of the United States are capable of.
00:47I think it's quite interesting that you're focusing on China, because when I was interviewing
00:55President Carter, which I did on many occasions in preparing this book, I heard from him that
01:05he considered normalization with China to be his longest lasting accomplishment.
01:12And remember, he was responsible for the most durable peace treaties since World War II,
01:17the Camp David Accords.
01:18But he thinks normalization is more significant in the larger sweep of history.
01:24So Richard Nixon opened the door to China in 1972, but Jimmy Carter and Deng Xiaoping
01:31walked through it in 1979.
01:35And that, you know, it kicked off, it made possible the greatest economic growth in human
01:42history.
01:44When Deng Xiaoping returned to China from his trip to Washington in 1979, the first
01:51thing he did was legalize private property, allowing China to prosper and a number of
01:57other reforms that came directly out of normalization.
02:01So this was a huge deal that most people have forgotten.
02:06Jonathan, you met him many times.
02:08And what was he like on a personal level?
02:12Well, he was a tremendously bright person and a very curious person with many talents.
02:22He could be charming, extremely charming in person and in small groups, less good as a
02:30communicator in front of on television.
02:34But in person, you know, it would alternate between a kind of an intensity that characterized
02:43him a real friendliness and warmth.
02:47And then on other occasions, he could be a little bit snappish.
02:52And this is very much in keeping with his relationships with other people.
02:56So this idea that, you know, he was a some kind of a saint, I think, needs some revision.
03:07But the real revision needs to be on the idea that he was a weak failure, which is what
03:13the right wing in the United States for many years tried to depict him as.
03:18Was he a better former president than a president?
03:22Well, only if you judge things politically.
03:27So, yes, he was a more successful former president than president.
03:31But what people have to keep in mind is that former presidents don't really have any power.
03:37And as president, he was a political failure.
03:40He was beaten badly by Ronald Reagan in 1980.
03:44But he was a substantive and often visionary success.
03:49And you know, we've talked about Camp David and China, but there are many other accomplishments,
03:56especially on the environment.
03:57And, you know, he was the first leader anywhere in the world to talk about climate.
04:02And he wanted electric vehicles by the mid 1980s.
04:07He signed 15 major pieces of environmental legislation.
04:11So this idea that, you know, oh, he wasn't any good as president is really a reflection
04:16of the fact that he had a very bad economy when he was president.
04:21And the hostages didn't come home until just moments after he left office.
04:28But he negotiated their release successfully.
04:32So I think that he was both a much underappreciated president and an inspirational former president.
04:42Jonathan, good to talk to you.
04:43Thank you for that.
04:44Thank you, Jonathan.
04:45Also, the historian reflecting on the life and times of U.S. President Jimmy Carter,
04:50who's died at the age of 100.