Inside Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford's 'Intense Personal Friendship' That Defied Politics (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford reconnect on the way to Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat’s 1981 funeral in Cairo.Photo:Dirck Halstead/Getty

Dirck Halstead/Getty

Though they were best remembered as political rivals, PresidentsJimmy CarterandGerald Fordformed a tight bond behind the scenes — one that would span decades.

Ford, a Republican, took over as president of the United States upon Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974 and, less than two years later, would be pitted against Carter, a Democrat, when both ran competing presidential campaigns.

According toCarter Center researcher Steve Hochman, who began working for President Carter in 1980, the 1976 campaign was “competitive,” but both men treated one another with respect.

Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford participate in a televised debate during the 1976 presidential election.Universal History Archive/Getty

Universal History Archive/Getty

At his Jan. 20, 1977, swearing-in, Carter made a point to reference Ford in his inaugural address, saying, “For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.”

Their relationship would prove an integral part of some foreign policy decisions, including the Panama Canal treaties, the pursuit of arms control with the Soviet Union, and the U.S. relationship with China.

Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford chat in the Oval Office.Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images

Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images

During the 1980 campaign, the burgeoning partnership between the two hit a snag when Ford spoke out against Carter’s reelection — though, behind the scenes, he told Carter that the move wasn’t personal, chalking it up to “partisan rhetoric,” Hochman says.

The men would come together again in 1981 following the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat. The three former U.S. presidents at the time — Carter, Ford and Nixon — were all asked to represent the nation alongside sitting PresidentRonald Reaganin a reunion that Carter would later write made them feel “somewhat ill at ease” upon their first greeting at Andrews Air Force Base.

During the flights to Egypt and back, Carter and Ford renewed their once-cordial dynamic.

President Ronald Reagan toasts with his three predecessors before they depart for Anwar El-Sadat’s funeral in Egypt.Getty

In 1983, the two met again, this time at the Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Mich., where they participated in a public policy conference. Hochman served as Carter’s aide on the trip, recounting how Ford gave them a personal tour of his presidential library, located on the campus of the University of Michigan.

Later that year, Carter invited Ford to join him as the co-chair of the first few major projects of The Carter Center, most of which revolved around public policy and attracted high-ranking leaders and scholars from across the world.

Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter at the Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor, Mich.Bettmann Archive/Getty

Bettmann Archive/Getty

Ford connected with The Carter Center in other ways, too, and in June 1983, accepted an appointment as one of 12 members of the organization’s board of advisers.

All told, Carter’s staff estimates that he and Ford joined together on more than 25 projects, including one as recently as 2001: the National Commission on Federal Election Reform. Noting that Carter and Ford were both deemed honorary co-Chairs of the event, Hochman says in reality, “both were active leaders of the effort.”

“The recommended reforms influenced legislation and improved the election process. It wasn’t enough, but it made a difference,” he says.

First ladies Rosalynn Carter and Betty Ford at President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 1977.HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

“She was the most distinguished guest we had ever had, but when she arrived, she was so warm and friendly that she immediately put me at ease, and we had a good time together,” Rosalynn later recalled of Betty.

They, too, had causes they shared, including advancing mental health initiatives and addressing and preventing substance abuse.

True to their promise, Rosalynn delivered astirring eulogyfor Betty at her 2011 funeral, saying, “Historians have said that our husbands, Jimmy and Jerry, developed a closer relationship than any other presidents after leaving the White House. I think Betty and I had a similar relationship.”

Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford at Columbia University.Monica Almeida/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

Monica Almeida/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

Years earlier, in 2007, President Carter spoke at President Ford’s funeral.

“Jerry and I frequently agreed that one of the greatest blessings that we had, after we left the White House during the last quarter-century, was the intense personal friendship that bound us together,” Carter said in his eulogy.

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“The personal relationship developed between the Carters and Fords,” says Hochman, “is especially poignant all these years later, in light of the political division that’s unfolded since.”

“The example of their working together in a nonpartisan spirit of patriotism and service is what we can and should continue today and in the future.”

source: people.com