Former President Jimmy Carter said he would have won his presidential race against Ronald Reagan — if only he had shown his “manly” side during the campaign.
He made the claim during an interview with “CBNC Meets” while discussing Operation Eagle Claw, his failed attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran in 1980.
“I could’ve been re-elected if I’d taken military action against Iran, shown that I was strong and resolute and … manly and so forth,” he said. “I could have wiped Iran off the map with the weapons that we had, but in the process a lot of innocent people would have been killed, probably including the hostages, and so I stood up against all that, all that advice, and then eventually my prayers were answered and every hostage came home safe and free.
“And so I think I made the right decision in retrospect, but it was not easy at the time,” he said.
Mr. Carter also said that he frequently fields questions from people who want to know what he would have done differently in Operation Eagle Claw.
“I would say I would send one more helicopter because if I had one more helicopter, we could have brought out not only the 52 hostages, but also brought out the rescue team and when that failed, then I think that was the main factor that brought about my failure to be re-elected,” he said. “So that’s one thing I would change.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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