Politics
Even Without Its Most Famous Son, Carter’s Hometown Remains a Destination
Plains has no major hotel, a single small gas station and only a couple of restaurants, neither of which is usually open for dinner. Still, for the longest time, the tiny town had something that no other place in Georgia did: Jimmy Carter making it his home.
Especially as Mr. Carter withdrew from public life, the town has had years to prepare for life after him. But now that he is gone — Mr. Carter died last month at 100 — the town is hoping that its prospects as a tourism destination have not been buried along with its most famous son.
The optimism in Plains is grounded in the experience of other small towns known almost exclusively for their ties to a former president, which history has shown can still attract a crowd decades or centuries after that president has died.
Hyde Park, which borders the Hudson River in New York, has a steady stream of tourists coming to visit Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential library, home and gravesite. Tampico, Ill., has erected signs advertising itself as the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, trying to encourage people to take a brief detour on the way to Chicago to see the apartment where Mr. Reagan was born.
These towns and others are banking on the country’s enduring fascination with its presidents. particularly among the collection of history buffs who find the insights they can offer irresistible.
“I recognized that there was something about getting to experience what they experienced and getting to see the world through their eyes,” said Joe Faykosh, a history professor at Central Arizona College.
He has visited all the available presidential birthplaces and homes and has interned at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio. He met the Carters in 2017 after the former president taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.
There is no guarantee that the appeal will last forever, though. More than 100 presidential sites in big cities and backcountry towns attract thousands of visitors each year, but interest can fade as a president drifts further into history. In recent years, the reappraisal of historical figures and the sins of the past that has toppled monuments and renamed schools has also affected the appeal of historic sites.
Charlottesville, Va., has seen a decline in visitors to Monticello, the plantation that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson. Tourism officials there have adapted, broadening what had once been a largely generous interpretation of Jefferson’s history to a more complex portrayal, including his role in upholding slavery as an institution. They have also tried to market Charlottesville as an emerging wine region — an identity Jefferson had also worked to establish around 250 years ago.
“Leisure trips have focused in the past on kind of historical discovery, and now people — because of their relationship with history, because of the politicizing of history — have a different relationship with the past,” said Courtney Cacatian, the executive director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau. “A lot of people don’t seek it out as part of their vacation experience anymore.”
Plains isn’t so worried about the judgment of history. Many in the community believe that people’s perceptions of Mr. Carter’s legacy will continue to be favorable. Americans remain divided about his performance as president. But the week of funeral events highlighted a widespread admiration for his character and the extensive work he did after leaving office to protect democracy, fight ailments like Guinea worm disease and provide support to impoverished people worldwide.
Plains has become somewhat stuck in time — a capsule capturing the lives that Mr. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, had lived there, even while they were still alive.
There are no drive-throughs or supermarkets. The Dollar General downtown has a brick facade that makes it look like it has been there forever. Plains High School no longer has students — it is a site maintained by the National Park Service, just like the Carter family farm outside town and even the Carters’s home off Main Street.
It is a transformation the Carters have been deeply involved in. They created an exhibition at the high school about segregation. Visitors walking around the president’s boyhood home and farm can hear recordings of Mr. Carter sharing memories of his childhood, such as visiting his Black neighbors who lived in a ramshackle home nearby and the absolute joy he felt when he received a pony for Christmas.
“There’s just so many things that President Carter had his hands in,” said AB Jackson, a councilwoman in Plains.
Sarah Wollenweber and her 17-year-old son, London, said that the amount of documentation of Mr. Carter’s life and where he grew up set Plains apart from other presidential sites they had visited across the country.
“He’s one of the last great presidents we’ve seen who is genuine and actually kind, so it’s been really great to experience this,” London said. He and his mother drove 12 hours from Bloomington, Ill., to see Mr. Carter’s coffin being carried through Plains last week.
“They dedicated the whole town to him and his wife,” he added.
Many residents believe the Carters were keenly aware of how much their presence attracted tourists and positively impacted the town’s economy.
From 2014 to 2019, when Mr. Carter was still routinely teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, at least 50,000 tourists a year came to Plains. Beginning in 2020, the number of sightseers dropped significantly, as the pandemic stymied tourism and the Carters’ health declined. But visitorship picked up again last year, with approximately 45,000 people coming through the town. That does not include the hundreds of people per day who descended on Plains after Mr. Carter died on Dec. 29.
Over many years, Mr. Carter encouraged improvements to increase the appeal for tourists. He founded the Friends of Jimmy Carter, a nonprofit that owns the Plains Historic Inn, with its seven suites, as well as the antique mall below it. He was also instrumental in opening one of the town’s two restaurants: the Buffalo Café, which serves cheeseburgers, salads and pimento cheese sandwiches. And he convinced legislators to fund a train that would drop visitors off at his former campaign headquarters.
“He wanted to make sure that the town stays viable,” said Kim Carter Fuller, the president’s niece. “Whatever he could do within reason, he did.”
But Plains could only accommodate so much. The town is less than one square mile in size and has little public land to sell for development. There is also tension between wanting to attract more tourists and not wanting to disturb the town’s traditional way of life.
“We don’t really want to change Plains,” said Ellen Harris, a councilwoman. “That’s what makes us unique.”
Locals were grateful that the Carters chose to be buried at their home instead of at their presidential library in Atlanta, a decision they hope will help to maintain a steady stream of visitors. In the coming months, the gravesites of the Carters will be opened to the public. The modest ranch home the president and the first lady built in 1961 — where they raised their children and returned to after leaving the White House — will be made accessible to the public for the first time shortly after.
Events with historical ties — like the city’s yearly peanut festival in September that pays homage to Mr. Carter’s roots as a farmer — will continue to be a draw, some say. There are also newer attractions. The latest, Apt. 9A, which opened for private tours in October, is the government-subsidized home Mr. Carter moved his wife and three sons into after his father’s death in 1953.
After a 2001 walk-through with Ms. Carter in the apartment, Annette Wise, who led the project, received donations and searched through thrift stores to find items to recreate the family’s modest furnishings at a time when they had almost no income. Paint chips in a closet helped her to track down the precise shade of dark green the Carters had painted their living room and later used in campaign signs.
Ms. Wise said she believes all the time and effort will ultimately be worthwhile.
“Plains is headed in the right direction,” said Ms. Wise, who is a member of the Plains Historical Preservation Trust and a founder and the president of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail. “They’ve left us big shoes to fill. But they’ve given us plenty of time to learn what to do.”
Rick Rojas contributed reporting. Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
In less than a year, President Trump has already significantly remade the White House. The Oval Office is decorated from top to bottom in gold. The Rose Garden’s lawn is paved over. And on Monday, part of the East Wing was demolished as Mr. Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom project forged ahead.
Here is what we know about five key White House renovations:
East Wing Ballroom
One of the biggest renovations underway is Mr. Trump’s addition of a ballroom to the East Wing. First announced in July, Mr. Trump trumpeted its construction as necessary to host large events for world leaders. He has said it will cost more than $200 million to build and will hold “999” people.
Mr. Trump has said that personal contributions and private donations will cover the bill for the ballroom, not taxpayers or foreign contributions. But this has raised concerns among historians and government ethics experts.
According to images released by the White House, the proposed design of the ballroom’s interior echoes features of the Grand Ballroom at Mr. Trump’s Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago. At 90,000 square feet, the East Wing Ballroom will nearly double the White House’s footprint. Demolition of part of the East Wing began in late October.
Rose Garden
Over the summer, Mr. Trump had the Rose Garden paved over with stone tiles, and tables with yellow and white striped umbrellas were added, mirroring the hard-surface patio at Mar-a-Lago. But the rose bushes are still there.
Mr. Trump recently hosted a dinner for Republican lawmakers in the renovated space, calling it the “Rose Garden Club.” The ceremony to posthumously award the conservative activist Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom was also held here.
Oval Office
Mr. Trump’s affinity for gold decor is perhaps most evident in the Oval Office. Portraits framed in gold are mounted on the walls, along with gold framed mirrors and gilded onlays. Even the presidential seal on the ceiling of the office is covered in gold leaf.
The Oval Office is the official working space of the president, and in his second term, Mr. Trump has often used it to meet with foreign leaders. The backdrop to these meetings is usually the fireplace mantle that Mr. Trump has adorned with historic items from the White House collection — all in gold.
Presidents often make changes to the Oval Office to reflect their priorities or the legacy they want to embody. But past presidents, including Mr. Trump in his first term, have typically decorated using a more subdued approach.
George W. Bush, June 2005
Barack Obama, January 2014
Donald Trump, September 2020
In his second term, Mr. Trump has even moved the White House ivy that has typically adorned the mantle to a greenhouse.
Cabinet Room
Mr. Trump’s gold theme extends to the Cabinet Room, where he often holds meetings with his staff and occasionally with international leaders. Golden onlays and trim have been added to the walls, and the mantle is also decorated with gold items.
Mr. Trump has also added more flags to the room, including flags for specific branches of the military, including the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. Ornate chandeliers now light the room.
West Colonnade
In September, Mr. Trump unveiled the “Presidential Walk of Fame” on the West Colonnade, which is the main walkway between the White House’s executive residence and the West Wing. The exhibit displays every president’s portrait, in chronological order, framed in gold with additional gold onlays above the portraits.
But in place of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s portrait is a photo of an autopen signing his name, a reference to the claims Mr. Trump has made without giving evidence that Mr. Biden’s cognitive state impaired him from signing documents and granting pardons. Presidents and other politicians have used devices like the autopen for decades, and Mr. Biden has said he made the clemency decisions that were signed with an autopen.
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Former first son Hunter Biden is claiming that his father only pardoned him because Donald Trump reclaimed the presidency in November 2024 — and “would not have” done so under “normal circumstances” while the appeals process played out.
HUNTER BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN PARDON TALKS TOWARD END OF FATHER’S TERM, SOURCE SAYS
“Donald Trump went and changed everything,” Hunter said in an interview released Monday on journalist Tommy Christopher’s Substack platform.
“And I don’t think that I need to make much of an argument about why it changed everything.”
Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, speaks to members of the media outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The 55-year-old — who pleaded guilty last year to evading $1.4 million in back taxes to the IRS and was convicted on felony gun charges — declined to mention that he had apparently been present for discussions on pardons during Joe Biden’s final months in the White House.
HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HE’S STARTED NEW JOB WITH CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT
“I’ve said this before,” Hunter went on.
“My dad would not have pardoned me if President Trump had not won, and the reason that he would not have pardoned me is because I was certain that in a normal circumstance of the appeals [I would have won].”
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, leave the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 07, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Biden scion added that Trump was planning a “revenge tour” against his father, which would have made himself the “easiest target to just to intimidate and to not just impact me, but impact my entire family into, into silence in a way that at least he is not — it’s not as easy for him to do [with] me being pardoned.”
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“I realize how privileged I am,” Hunter went on.
The Atlantic’s Sarah Chayes urged Biden to stop claiming his son “did nothing wrong.” (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
“I realize how lucky I am; I realize that I got something that almost no one would have gotten.
“But I’m incredibly grateful for it and I have to say that I don’t think that it requires me to make much of a detailed argument for why it was the right thing to do, at least from my dad, from his perspective.”
Ex-White House chief of staff Jeff Zients spilled last month that Hunter “was involved” in clemency talks and even “attended a few meetings,” a source with knowledge of the Biden official’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee told The Post.
An estimated 7 million Americans turned out Saturday to peacefully protest against the breakdown of our checks-and-balances democracy into a Trump-driven autocracy, rife with grift but light on civil rights.
Trump’s response? An AI video of himself wearing a crown inside a fighter plane, dumping what appears to be feces on these very protesters. In a later interview, he called participants of the “No Kings” events “whacked out” and “not representative of this country.”
I’m beginning to fear he’s right. What if the majority of Americans really do believe this sort of behavior by our president, or by anyone really, is acceptable? Even funny? A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that 81% of Republicans approve of the way Trump is handling his job. Seriously, the vast majority of Republicans are just fine with Trump’s policies and behavior.
According to MAGA, non-MAGA people are just too uptight these days.
Vice Troll JD Vance has become a relentless force for not just defending the most base and cruel of behaviors, but celebrating them. House Speaker Mike Johnson has made the spineless, limp justification of these behaviors an art form.
Between the two approaches to groveling to Trump’s ego and mendacity is everything you need to know about the future of the Republican Party. It will stop at nothing to debase and dehumanize any opposition — openly acknowledging that it dreams of burying in excrement even those who peacefully object.
Not even singer Kenny Loggins is safe. His “Top Gun” hit “Danger Zone” was used in the video. When he objected with a statement of unity, saying, “Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’,” the White House responded with … a dismissive meme, clearly the new norm when responding to critics.
It may seem obvious, and even old news that this administration lacks accountability. But the use of memes and AI videos as communication, devoid of truth or consequence, adds a new level of danger to the disconnect.
These non-replies not only remove reality from the equation, but remove the need for an actual response — creating a ruling class that does not feel any obligation to explain or defend its actions to the ruled.
Politico published a story last week detailing the racist, misogynistic and hate-filled back-and-forth of an official, party-sanctioned “young Republican” group. Since most of our current politicians are part of the gerontocracy, that young is relative — these are adults, in their 20s and 30s — and they are considered the next generation of party leaders, in a party that has already skewed so far right that it defends secret police.
Here’s a sample.
Bobby Walker, the former vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, called rape “epic,” according to Politico.
Another member of the chat called Black Americans “watermelon people.”
“Great. I love Hitler,” wrote another when told delegates would vote for the most far-right candidate.
There was also gas chamber “humor” in there and one straight up, “I’m ready to watch people burn now,” from a woman in the conversation, Anne KayKaty, New York’s Young Republican’s national committee member, according to the Hill.
Group members engaged in slurs against South Asians, another popular target of the far right these days. There’s an entire vein of racism devoted to the idea that Indians smell bad, in case you were unaware.
Speaking of a woman mistakenly believed to be South Asian, one group member — Vermont state Sen. Samuel Douglass, wrote: “She just didn’t bathe often.”
While some in the Republican party have denounced, albeit half-heartedly, the comments, others, including Vance, have gone on the attack. Vance, whose wife is Indian, claims everyone is making a big deal out of nothing.
“But the reality is that kids do stupid things. Especially young boys, they tell edgy, offensive jokes. Like, that’s what kids do,” Vance said. “And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke — telling a very offensive, stupid joke — is cause to ruin their lives.”
Not to be outdone, Johnson responded to the poop jet video by somehow insinuating there is an elevated meaning to it.
“The president was using social media to make a point,” Johnson said, calling it “satire.”
Satire is meant to embarrass and humiliate, to call out through humor the indefensible. I’ll buy the first part of that. Trump meant to embarrass and humiliate. But protesting, of course, is anything but indefensible and the use of feces as a weapon is a way of degrading those “No Kings” participants so that Trump doesn’t have to answer to their anger — no different than degrading Black people and women in that group chat.
Those 7 million Americans who demonstrated on Saturday simply do not matter to Trump, or to Republicans. Not their healthcare, not their ability to pay the bills, not their worry that a country they love is turning in to one where their leader literally illustrates that he can defecate on them.
But not everyone can be king.
While the young Republicans believe they shared in their leader’s immunity, it turns out they don’t. That Vermont state senator? He resigned after the Republican governor put on pressure.
Maybe 7 million Americans angry at Trump can’t convince him to change his ways, but enough outraged Vermont voters can make change in their corner of the country.
Which is why the one thing Trump does fear is the midterms, when voters get to shape our own little corners of America — and by extension, whether Trump gets to keep using his throne.
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