Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

State Funeral Set for January 9 in DC for Former President Jimmy Carter; 179 Dead, Two Survivors After South Korean Jeju Airlines Crash; Azerbaijan Points to Russian in Christmas Day Plane Crash. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 30, 2024 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JUSTIN GREEN, AVIATION ATTORNEY: They want their loved ones back with them. Obviously, they know they're passed, but right now they're not even getting the remains. And probably a lot of the families are being visited to get DNA swabs from children to get, you know, go to actually take brushes and get hair out of the brushes so they can go identify the bodies.

I understand that it takes a long time to get reliable information. The worst thing than the delay is giving wrong information. And they want to make sure that the remains are properly identified and returned in a respectful way. They want to make sure the personal effects are properly identified and returned to the right families, and that's going to take time. But it's very frustrating to the families.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Justin Green, we appreciate your insights and expertise, and we appreciate you being here today. Thank you.

GREEN: Thank you, Rahel.

SOLOMON: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: This morning remembering Jimmy Carter. The date for his state funeral was just revealed as tributes to his presidency, his great love for his wife, and his legacy pour in.

New this morning as well, a pilot's final words, what was said moments before that horrific crash landing in South Korea, as we're now learning a bird strike may be to blame.

Plus, devastation across the south of the United States after a rare tornado outbreak struck right before the New Year.

I'm Omar Jimenez with Rahel Solomon. Sara, John, and Kate are out today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SOLOMON: And this morning we are learning more about how the nation will honor the life and the legacy of former President Jimmy Carter. Moments ago, the White House confirmed that a state funeral will be held in Washington, D.C., on January 9th. Overnight, President Biden declared that same day a national day of mourning, as this hour, flags at the White House and across the state of Georgia are flying at half- staff.

Carter died peacefully at the age of 100 yesterday afternoon, surrounded by his family at his home. Many this morning remembering him for his humanitarian work and the deep love he shared with Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years. All five living U.S. presidents paying their respects, Biden calling him a dear friend, Trump saying we all owe him a debt of gratitude, Obama highlighting his remarkable nature, as Bush called him a true point of light, and Clinton saying he lived to serve others.

Let's bring in CNN's Ryan Young, who is live in Plains, Georgia, this morning. Ryan, as I just pointed out, we were hearing from all sorts of former leaders, both here and abroad, but how are those in his hometown remembering him?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, such a great question. I think one of the things you have to realize is when you cross this state, there's a lot of pride for Jimmy Carter. Almost every part of this state has been touched by a man who had a guiding hand in terms of not only showing how someone who could be a farmer in such a small town like this one could rise to be the president of the United States.

And I will tell you, as we travel here overnight and we stopped in certain places, we talked to people who said they loved the fact that Jimmy Carter stood for so much, even after his presidency. When you talk about Habitat for Humanity or how he went after diseases in Africa, there is a lot of pride when it comes to the former president.

But listen to the mayor of this city talk about how much the former president meant to Plains, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOZE GODWIN, FORMER MAYOR OF PLAINS, GEORGIA: I've known him since I was a child. He was not only my friend, though. He was a friend of everybody in town. And we've lost not just a president, but a friend, and a person that never forgot the people here, regardless of what a position he held. And also, he's going to be buried here. And it's a very deliberate move to keep people coming by to visit on his part. Even in death, he hadn't forgot the town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: He never forgot the town. I want to read this quote from Chip Carter. It says, "My father was a hero not only to me, but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love. My brothers, sisters, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs." That was from Chip Carter.

Look, when you stand in this town, you can only see Jimmy Carter's touch all over the place. You look behind me, you see the big sign. The campaign headquarters is just over there. And I will tell you, even the small places here, everyone seems to have a Jimmy Carter story. I've worked throughout the state my entire career, Thomasville, Georgia, Savannah, and Atlanta, and every one of those places someone always had a story about the former president.

[08:05:02]

We now know that January 9th will be the day of national mourning and also the day of that funeral, but so many people will be coming out over the next 24 hours or so to tell their personal stories of meeting Jimmy Carter, or even someone like myself who can remember doing Habitat for Humanity stories, and the former president showing up and really shutting the whole city down because of the impact that he would have when he would show up to one of those scenes, and how he was so common to so many people. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Yes. And he will, of course, bring tourism back to Plains for years to come by design. Ryan Young live for us there. Ryan, thank you.

And from peanut farmer to president to Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter lived an extraordinary life. CNN's Wolf Blitzer has more now on his enduring legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Be proud again. We just want the truth again.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Jimmy Carter was elected president nearly two years after the lawbreaking and coverups of the Watergate scandal forced President Richard Nixon to resign. His candor seemed like a breath of fresh air.

CARTER: Theres a fear that our best years are behind us. But I say to you that our nation's best is still ahead.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: James Earl Carter was born on October 1st, 1924. His father ran an agricultural supply store in plains, Georgia. His mother was a nurse. He was smart enough and tough enough to receive an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy just after graduation. In 1946, he married Rosalynn Smith. His naval career took him from battleships to the new nuclear submarine program, but when his father died in 1953, he left the military and returned to Georgia, where he spent the next two decades running the family peanut farm business and slowly and steadily beginning a political career that saw him elected governor of Georgia in 1970.

JODY POWELL, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: To use an old 1950s term, if there ever was a classic example of an inner-directed man, you know Jimmy Carter is it.

BLITZER: His close friend and associate was Press Secretary Jody Powell, who died in 2009.

POWELL: He enjoyed people, and he enjoyed talking to people. I think he enjoyed those early days of campaigns when there was much more personal interaction with the voters than he did the latter stages, when it was a series of set piece speeches and large crowds.

CARTER: My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president.

(CHEERING)

BLITZER: In 1976, the former Georgia governor went from being Jimmy who to the White House. Not everyone in Washington was happy to see him.

TOM OLIPHANT, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": Washington, even more than New York, is the snobbiest city in America. And Carter and the Georgians were treated like dirt, condescendingly, and with hostility. If he had a fault, it was that he matched Washington's hostility with his own.

BLITZER: Early on, Carter was accused of presidential micromanaging, of excessive attention to detail.

OLIPHANT: At his best, Jimmy Carter mastered a subject and then led, sometimes very effectively, because of his mastery of its details.

BLITZER: That mastery of details enabled Carter to negotiate the Camp David peace accords, a deal between Egypt and Israel that led to a peace treaty ending decades of war between their countries.

His most difficult presidential days came after Iranian militants took dozens of Americans hostage in Tehran in late 1979. They were held for 444 days, and eight U.S. servicemen died after President Carter ordered an elaborate rescue attempt that failed. The Iran hostage crisis was only one of the challenges that confronted President Carter.

CARTER: We must face the fact that the energy shortage is permanent.

BLITZER: During Carters term, Americans endured a sharp, steady increase in oil and gasoline prices, which forced everything to cost more. To some, Carter's stark comments began to sound like moralizing.

CARTER: The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of America.

BLITZER: In 1980, Carter faced Republican challenger Ronald Reagan, who exuded sunny optimism and asked voters a simple question,

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

BLITZER: Jimmy Carter lost the election, but not his resolve to make a difference. He and Rosalynn founded the Carter Center, in part to promote peace, democracy, human rights, as well as economic and social development all over the world. Carter monitored elections for fairness. He went to North Korea and Cuba and met with leaders usually shunned by the U.S., including representatives of Hamas, the Palestinian organization both the U.S. and Israel have branded as terrorists. [08:10:01]

POWELL: This is a man who has a really unique commitment to public service. It really is a calling with him.

BLITZER: In autumn of 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the culmination of an incredible career as a world leader and as a citizen.

CARTER: I'm delighted and humbled and very grateful that the Nobel Peace Prize committee has given me this recognition.

BLITZER: He still wasn't done. Carter remained active into his 90s, traveling, writing books, building Habitat for Humanity homes, and to the discomfort of his successors, speaking out on the issues of the day. He criticized Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, called George W. Bush's international policy, quote, "the worst in history."

But from your definition, you believe the United States under this administration has used torture?

CARTER: I don't, I don't think it. I know it, certainly.

BLITZER: He also took on President Donald Trump.

STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Does America want kind of a jerk as president?

CARTER: Apparently from his recent election, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

CARTER: I never knew it before.

BLITZER: Carter survived a cancer scare in 2015 and kept going.

CARTER: Didn't find any cancer at all.

BLITZER: So when he attended George H.W. Bush's funeral in late 2018, he was the oldest of America's living presidents. He celebrated his own 100th birthday in 2024. His beloved wife Rosalynn passed away in 2023. She'd been a steadfast partner through 77 years of marriage.

Carter's diminished health prevented him from speaking at her memorial service, so their daughter, Amy, read a letter he wrote to Rosalynn while deployed with the Navy 75 years earlier.

AMY CARTER, JIMMY CARTER'S DAUGHTER: "My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are. While I am away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Does that seem strange to you? It doesn't to me."

BLITZER: Husband, statesman, a connection to an era now gone, Jimmy Carter was a defender of values forever current. CARTER: Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity,

and who suffer for the sake of justice, they are the patriots of this cause. I believe with all my heart that America must always stand for these basic human rights at home and abroad. That is both our history and our destiny.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JIMENEZ: With us now is Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, and Kate Andersen Brower, author of "Exploring the White House" and "First Women." Thank you both for being here.

Now, Stewart, obviously, look, so much of Jimmy Carter's legacy has come from his time after leaving the White House. But I wonder, what do you see as his most enduring legacy during his time in office, and how it may have informed his path post-presidency?

STEWART MCLAURIN, PRESIDENT, THE WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: Well, thank you, Omar. It's an honor to be with you this morning.

And I think as we reflect back on a remarkable life, a president who lived more than 100 years, spanning from 1924, just a few years after World War one, until just this week, that presidency saw so much, so much change in America. And most people watching this program may not have even been alive when Jimmy Carter was president. And so he's had a dynamic post-presidency.

But the years when he was president, I think, I would like to say were marked by a number of things that were not even mentioned in Wolf's obituary, and that was faith. A man of dynamic, intense personal faith. In fact, the Sunday after the camp David Accords, when most presidents would be taking a victory lap on the Sunday shows, President Carter taught Sunday school at the first Baptist Church here in Washington, D.C.

And I think that's something that was emblematic of his presidency. He spoke to us of being in prayer so much during the time of the hostage crisis during his presidency. And I think that's something that we should focus on and remember about him during his presidency, but certainly since.

JIMENEZ: Yes, I mean, of course, with such a significant aspect of his life and the work that he did.

Kate, you and I were talking I think literally in the first minutes after we learned of Jimmy Carter passing. And one of the things I was thinking about since yesterday, today is I think we kind of take for granted the work that presidents these days tend to do when they leave office and the work of charity or foundations. But when Jimmy Carter did it, it wasn't necessarily the norm. I mean, is there an aspect of his post-presidency work that you think will, especially -- that you think especially set a blueprint for what would become future presidents?

[08:15:00] KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, AUTHOR, "EXPLORING THE WHITE HOUSE" AND "FIRST WOMEN": Well, he redefined the post-presidency and as he redefined the First Lady's position with Rosalynn in the White House being an incredibly active First Lady and the vice presidency, giving Walter Mondale his own office in the West Wing of the White House, which hadn't happened before.

So, he was an incredible leader and I think what he did the most was show that money doesn't matter. He was there. He didn't want to make money that wasn't something he was concerned about. He wanted to change people's lives.

JIMENEZ: And you know, Stewart, I will ask you the same question, is there an aspect of his post-presidency work that you think especially set a blueprint for what would become future presidents?

MCLAURIN: Well, I think Kate is exactly right. He set that standard. And now you look at what President Clinton has done and what George W. Bush has done with their centers to continue the work that they were advocating as president, and President Carter certainly did that and continued things that was even more successful post-presidency and advocating those policies and interests than he had been during his presidency.

JIMENEZ: And, Kate, look, obviously, we are talking about Jimmy Carter's death here, but he, of course, was married to his wife, Rosalynn, for over 75 years before she died last year.

Their relationship was very front and center in the work that they did. And I know you touched on it a little bit, but I wonder what you see as the lasting impact of Jimmy Carter, the husband, and Jimmy Carter in the context of their relationship?

BROWER: Well, they were married an astonishing 77 years. They were each other's best friends. You know, they didn't have friends, they had each other.

She was his closest adviser. He was not very political. You know, she would often tell him she was the politician in that relationship. And when he wanted to make decisions that were controversial, sometimes she would say, maybe you should hold off until you're re-elected to do that, and I think that shows her incredible political acumen.

But they held each other up. Every night, they read the Bible to each other. They never went to bed angry. They were each other's biggest supporters.

And I also think the fact that he listened to her, they would have these weekly lunches in the Oval Office where she would bring him the problems that she was hearing from around the country. And, you know, her mental health work was very important to him.

They gave each other a voice and there was such a mutual respect between each other that I think is very unique in any marriage to see on such a public stage.

JIMENEZ: Yes, I mean, look, so many aspects of his life have -- I think, it is clear, have left enduring legacies.

Stewart, I want to ask you this question because I think it is interesting, you're president of the White House Historical Association, and I think it is fair to say that maybe how history looked on President Jimmy Carter in the year or two after he was voted out of office versus now has changed significantly over the past few decades.

So I guess my question to you is, how do you think history will ultimately remember Jimmy Carter?

MCLAURIN: Well, I think history has already changed our reflections on this presidency from the very difficult, challenging, harsh time those four years and then being defeated resoundingly by President Reagan in 1980.

But then to look back and to see all that he has accomplished since his presidency and how much that was rooted in the time of his presidency itself.

I do want to mention one other thing about Mrs. Carter, as Kate was reflecting on their relationship, my mind reflected on that Inauguration Day in 1977 when President and Mrs. Carter are coming down Pennsylvania Avenue after the swearing in ceremony. They get out of the limo and they grasp hands, and they're walking down Pennsylvania Avenue hand in hand, and I think that was emblematic of what was to come.

Of course, they had worked together in the peanut and agriculture industry and in state government and certainly in the White House. And then we've seen all of these years in that wonderful marriage, how they worked together.

And so the legacy is of the two of them, not just of one president.

JIMENEZ: Yes, Kate Andersen Brower, Stewart McLaurin, I've got to leave the conversation there. Thank you both for being here.

All right, more news we are following, including breaking overnight, Azerbaijan's president is accusing Russia of a cover up in the deadly Christmas Day plane crash in Kazakhstan. We have the latest on the investigation.

Plus, new information this morning in the beating death of an inmate in New York. Some of the officers accused in the case were also accused of previous assaults on the job.

And it looks like the New Year will bring good news about gas prices. We are going to bring you the fuel forecast for 2025 just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:42]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. South Korea's acting president has declared seven days of national mourning as details continue to unfold surrounding South Korea's deadliest air accident in decades.

Officials have confirmed that a mayday call was made by the pilot of the inbound flight from Bangkok due to a bird strike on the aircraft, before attempting an emergency landing.

One hundred and seventy nine people died in the crash. Two crew members who were in the tail section of the plane incredibly survived.

The NTSB, now leading a team of US investigators to assist South Korean authorities.

CNN's Mike Valerio is at the crash site in Muan, South Korea, and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, were getting a better sense of how expansive the debris field is, and right now we are only a couple yards away from the epicenter of the debris field.

That is the tail section of the Boeing 737 800, which managed to survive relatively and I stress, relatively intact, 15 yards high. And this is the section of the plane where the two survivors were pulled from and rescued by first responders minutes after this plane was engulfed in flames.

So we are going to pan to the left. That's where you can see this massive yellow crane that will be charged with moving pieces of the wreckage, and we are going to pan down, and you can see parts of the aircraft that were hurled, jettisoned beyond the cinder block perimeter of the airport.

[08:25:10]

And this is what investigators from South Korea, the NTSB from the United States, will be poring over, scouring over as they investigate, certainly, what went wrong and were there any mechanical issues that contributed to the landing gear not deploying.

But, you know, I think we got a better sense during the day as we pan further to my right, just showing you that some of this debris was hurled from the aircraft a distance longer than a football field, just to give you the sense of the force of this crash. During the daylight hours, we saw tray tables, yellow inflatable vests, seats that were mangled, and members of the military that were combing this area that we are looking at after sunset, looking for potential human remains, looking for passengers' belongings and cataloging certain elements of the aircraft, certain pieces of the aircraft.

We are waiting for the NTSB team to get on the scene to begin their work. That is the next part of this equation when it comes to the investigation figuring out what went wrong. And we do know that one of the black box components has been damaged and its questionable, an open question rather whether or not it will have to be sent to the United States for examination.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Muan, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And our thanks to Mike Valerio for that report -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Well, this morning, a Christmas Day plane crash is still sparking international tension. Azerbaijan's president is accusing Russia of accidentally shooting down a passenger plane and trying to hide it.

Russia's president offered a carefully worded apology over the weekend, but stopped short of taking blame for the 38 deaths.

CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us now.

So, Clare, can you just tell us more about the investigation and what seems to be the diplomatic fallout here?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar, the investigation seems to be in its early stages. Now, it is involving four countries, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, where, of course, the plane came down, and Brazil, which is where the headquarters of Embraer, the plane maker, is based.

We understand the black boxes have now been sent to Brazil for analysis. So there is cooperation happening there. But on the other side, we have this very unwelcome diplomatic spat from Moscow with a key ally, Azerbaijan, so key that in fact, Azerbaijan's president was en route to Russia for an informal summit of post-Soviet States when the plane came down and he had to turn back to Azerbaijan.

So look, as you say, Putin is clearly in damage control mode. He did apologize in a way, in a phone call that he initiated on Saturday. He said that he was sorry for this tragic incident happening in Russian airspace according to a Kremlin readout of that call. So an apology, but no admission of guilt there.

And the apology seems to have been accepted by Azerbaijan's president, but he has three demands, right? One, that Russia apologize; one that it admits its guilt, which it hasn't done yet, though of course, the investigation is ongoing. And thirdly, that it punish those responsible and pay compensation.

Now, we did hear via Azerbaijan state media that Russia's investigative committee has promised to track down those responsible and punish them. No mention of compensation yet.

So this is still ongoing, it is not clear what Azerbaijan's actions may be yet, as it is called for these three things, and Russia has not met all of them yet. But we do see Russia clearly trying to placate its ally here. It is, you know, making a show of being out front when it comes to the investigation.

The investigative committee chair has promised to put its best qualified people on this, and you know, advanced equipment. And interestingly, Putin published the list today of the countries that he wished Happy New Year to these so-called friendly countries. At the very top of that list was Azerbaijan -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right, it is an interesting situation to follow. A lot of interested parties here from countries, but of course, the families of those killed and affected as well.

Clare Sebastian, really appreciate the reporting.

Also this morning we have new, really disturbing details from a deadly inmate beating in New York. What investigators have discovered about past incidents at the prison.

And we are reflecting on the life of President Jimmy Carter and how his church served as his home away from home.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]