Transcript of Jimmy Carter’s niece reflects on his legacy

Yes, they do. We appreciate all of that. I'm very proud of my Daddy, and I certainly appreciate what Christian did for him all those years ago.

We've been discussing all day, Kim, your uncle's story and life was in so many ways this really improbable journey. Can you tell us what it was about your uncle's decision to initially even run for governor and then president? Was the family surprised? Because you hear so many people remembering that a lot of people, quite honestly, didn't really don't know that much about Jimmy Carter?

We were not surprised at all because whatever Uncle Jimmy set out to do, he always did it. Now, we were overwhelmed when the press came in and started talking about it. But as far as him running for governor or president, we were not surprised. In fact, I've told people this several times over the past few days. We were excited for the governor's mansion because every holiday we were there. Mom and Daddy put us on a bus and we'd go up there and stay. So we liked that part of it. But no, we weren't surprised. When you come from a family like this, where you got my grandma who went to the Peace Corps, and then you've got the rest of the children who have done extraordinary things with their lives. It's just a matter of the way we lived.

Spencer, I think you're still with us as well. Would you like to say hello to Kim?

I would. Hi, Kim. I just wanted to remind you of something you may not recall because you were probably very young at the time. But when I emceed the former President's 75th birthday celebration in Americas, and I told the story about having interviewed your dad, I went out to talk a lot about your dad and how I felt a connection with him, with Billy Carter. And I meant to say I felt like Billy and I were soulmates. But what came out of my mouth was I felt like Billy and I were soul brothers. So when the event ended, your mom came up to me, gave me the biggest hug, and she said, Hello, Soul Brother. I thought that was just a wonderfully warm moment.

That is. And you all probably were Soul Brothers. That's a good thing. That's a very good thing.

You're right.

Just another way that I think it's remarkable, Kim, and how your uncle, your family have touched the lives of so many, including, of course, of yours, Spencer. I love seeing the two of you connecting and reconnecting here and sharing these these old stories. Kim, I do want to ask you as well about your uncle's faith. I know that you share in his faith as well. He, obviously, we've been discussing, was steadfastly dedicated to teaching Sunday school. What were those lessons was like, and share with us how deeply his faith shaped him.

If you experienced one of Uncle Jimmy's Sunday School lessons, I think you can honestly say that with the examples that he shared with everyone and the fact that he'd have his Bible there, and every once in a while, he'd refer to it, but he already knew it by heart, that you came away with an uplift in yourself. Uncle Jimmy was one of those people who never, ever was ashamed or stopped to share his faith. What you saw is what you got. I remember I was his substitute Sunday school teacher for a long, long time, and I started teaching for him right before the pandemic, and then he would come back and we'd go back and forth. About a year and a half ago, he called me and said, You need to come up to the house. We got to Look. He said, I am giving you the class. Right after that, I asked him, Do you ever use a commentary? I really like those examples. He said to me, I don't have to use a commentary. I went, Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not the leader of the free world, a former leader. But he gave me examples.

He would stand up and give examples about what we were studying. And he taught me an awful lot. And I still have voicemails on my phone where he would call me and say, You need to add this or you need to do this. And I can't quite look at him or listen to him yet. So I'm going to miss that because up until he just really couldn't, he would help me along.