Greg Abbott mistakenly sends condolences to Jimmy Carter’s dead wife
Greg Abbott’s office issued a new statement hours after the first gaffe was released
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Your support makes all the difference.After news of President Jimmy Carter’s passing broke, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent his condolences to First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the president’s wife who died over a year ago.
“Cecilia and I send our prayers and deepest condolences to First Lady Rosalynn Carter and the entire Carter family,” Abbott’s statement read on Sunday.
“Cecilia and I mourn the loss of former President Jimmy Carter alongside millions of Americans across the country. Our nation remains the greatest beacon of freedom and opportunity in the world because of our fearless chief executives who are our guiding force through the best and worst of times.
“For that, we owe President Carter our enduring gratitude for his service as the 39th President of the United States. Having led a life marked by selfless service to the American people, President Carter leaves behind a great legacy as a husband, father, naval officer, governor, and Nobel prize winner, and he will be greatly missed by many.”
The Republican governor issued another statement to X about two hours after the gaffe was released.
The updated statement was amended to read: “Cecilia and I send our prayers and deepest condolences to the entire Carter family.”
Rosalynn Carter died in November 2023 at the age of 96 at the Carter family home in Plains, Georgia, while her husband, the longest-living president, died on Sunday, also at home. He was 100 years old and had been in hospice care since February 2023, a decision supported by his family and medical team.
The president’s funeral will be held on January 9 at the Washington National Cathedral. Carter will have private and state funerals in addition to lying in state at the US Capitol. He will interred in Plains, Georgia following the ceremonies.
X commentators were quick to pounce on the Republican governor. “Did anyone in the governor’s office proof the condolence note?” The Texas Democrats of Collin County asked. Other X users called Abbott a “moron” and called for him to have a “cognitive test.”
It’s not clear if Abbott and Carter ever met.
Carter was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Texas.
Other Texas political leaders, including former Republican President George W Bush, expressed their sympathies over Carter’s passing.
“Laura and I send our heartfelt condolences to Jack, Chip, Jeff, Amy, and the entire Carter family,” the former president said.
“James Earl Carter, Jr, was a man of deeply held convictions. He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country. President Carter dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency. His work with Habitat for Humanity and The Carter Center set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations.
“We join our fellow citizens in giving thanks for Jimmy Carter and in prayer for his family.”
Speaking to reporters in the US Virgin Islands during his final vacation in office, President Joe Biden called Carter a decent man and urged his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, to learn something from his legacy.
“Jimmy Carter stands as a model for it means to live a life of meaning and purpose,” he said. Carter won The Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts. For more than 35 years, Carter worked to advance the lives of the poor by building homes through Habitat for Humanity.
He and his wife also created The Carter Center in 1982, a nonprofit committed to human rights and ending human suffering.
Biden said it was wrong to see Carter as a reflection of “a bygone era.”
“We could all do well to be a little more like Jimmy Carter,” he said.
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