Former President Jimmy Carter is now the oldest living chief executive in American history.
On Thursday, Carter turned 94 years and 172 days old, making him a day older than former President George H.W. Bush was when he died in November 2018.
While some appeared to “jump the gun” and report on Carter’s age on Wednesday, the Jimmy Carter Library joined in on the chorus celebrating the milestone Thursday morning.
“While we still think some of you may have jumped the gun (ahem, @AJC, @Wikipedia), we’re happy to join in and recognize that President Jimmy Carter has set, or will soon set, the record for being the US’s oldest living president,” the Jimmy Carter Library tweeted Thursday morning.
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While we still think some of you may have jumped the gun (ahem, @AJC, @Wikipedia), we’re happy to join in and recognize that President Jimmy Carter has set, or will soon set, the record for being the US’s oldest living president. pic.twitter.com/2LcDGi1cpy
— Jimmy Carter Library (@CarterLibrary) March 21, 2019
The Carter Center, Carter’s human rights and anti-poverty organization, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they “rooting” for Carter just before the milestone became official.
“We at the Carter Center sure are rooting for him and are grateful for his long life of service that has benefited millions of the world’s poorest people,” the center told the AJC.
Carter, who was elected when he was 52 years old and has been out of office for 38 years, has also lived the longest number of years since departing the White House out of any president.
