Jimmy Carter Agrees With Stephen Colbert That America Wants a 'Jerk as President'

The former president also said he's praying for Donald Trump.

jimmy carter getty sopa images
Image via Getty/SOPA Images
jimmy carter getty sopa images

Everyone has an opinion on Donald Trump. But, as the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter's thoughts hold a little more weight. So, during a recent appearance on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert took the opportunity to ask the famously cordial former president, "Does America want kind of a jerk as president?"

"Apparently, from the recent election, yes," Carter laughed. "I never knew it before."

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"What do you think it takes to be president?" Colbert followed. Without skipping a beat, Carter quipped, "I used to think it was to tell the truth, but I've changed my mind lately."

Despite the digs at Trump, Carter did say later in the interview that he is praying for the president and the well-being of the country.

"I pray that he'll be a good president and that he'll keep our country at peace; and that he'll refrain from using nuclear weapons and that he'll promote human rights," Carter said. "So, yeah, I pray for him."

Promoting his new book, Faith, Carter recently sat down with USA Today to explain exactly what he believed Trump was doing wrong. One of the things he zeroed in on was the appointment of John Bolton as national security adviser.

"Maybe one of the worst mistakes that President Trump has made since he’s been in office is his employment of John Bolton, who has been advocating a war with North Korea for a long time and even an attack on Iran, and who has been one of the leading figures on orchestrating the decision to invade Iraq,” Carter said. Later, he called the appointment "a disaster for our country."

You can watch Carter's interview with Colbert above and his full conversation with USA Today below.

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