Jimmy Carter was laid to rest in a state funeral on Thursday, January 9, 2025. His passing marks the most recent loss of a U.S. President. As of now, only five former Presidents are still living.
Over the last 30 years, five American Presidents have died. Richard Nixon died in 1994, Gerald Ford in 2006, Ronald Reagan in 2004, and George H.W. Bush in 2018.
The five remaining US presidents are known for various things. All of them have served their terms in the post-Cold War era, facing significant events such as terrorist attacks, pandemics, and financial crises.
Bill Clinton and George Bush are both 78 years old and led the US at the turn of the millennium
Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was born in 1946 and served as President of the United States from 1993 to 2001, making him the 42nd president of the US. He is best known for giving the US a prosperous economy, by signing policies like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) treaty and modernizing the Democratic Party platform, focusing on centrist policies.
Some of these policies included the 1996 Welfare Reform, and the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, which helped achieve federal budget surpluses.
Notably, President Clinton oversaw the rise of the internet economy in the mid-90s and played a crucial role in the Dayton Accords which helped end the war in Bosnia. Congress impeached him in 1998 after lying under oath about having an extramarital affair.
George W Bush
George W. Bush was also born in 1946 and is 78 years old, like Clinton. A Republican, he served as President from 2001 to 2009, enduring one of the most complex periods in American history.
His first year as President saw the worst attack ever on American soil, as he had to respond to the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. This kicked off the war on terror, starting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which would both greatly impact US and world history.
Locally, Bush was best known for his No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, reforming education standards, and tax cuts, and implementing Medicare Part D, adding prescription drug benefits. His administration also faced the devastating hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis.
Barack Obama is the youngest US president that is still alive
Barack Obama, a Democrat, served from 2009 to 2017 as President, the 44th man to serve in this position. Obama was also the first African American US president in history. He is 63, born in 1961.
His most notable policies came in the early 2010s. He introduced the Affordable Care Act in 2010, significantly broadening healthcare access. The same year, he enacted the Dodd-Frank Act to enhance financial regulation following the recession. Then in 2012, he implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. This policy protects undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.
Obama was responsible for helping revitalize the world’s largest economy following the 2008 recession. Notably, in 2011, he ordered the operation that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden. He also advanced climate policy, exemplified by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
Donald Trump
President-elect Donald Trump will be the 45th and 47th President of the United States. He is 78 years old and was born in 1946, like Clinton and Bush. He held office previously, first from 2017 to 2021, and will serve again. Trump will return to office, his inauguration is on January 20, 2025.
Trump has significantly altered the landscape of American politics, primarily recognized for his “America First” agenda and the “Make America Great Again” movement. Some of his most notable first-term policies were the Tax Cuts and Job Acts, which largely prioritized business, the USMCA, and exerting more control on immigration.
He is also the first President to be impeached (and acquitted) twice. First impeached in 2019, Congress impeached him again in 2021. He struggled to lead the country through the COVID-19 pandemic but secured faster deployment of vaccines. But he is also infamous for the US Capitol assault on January 6, 2021, occurring after losing the 2020 election to the next man on the list.
Joe Biden, the Oldest remaining US President
Joe Biden will leave office in a matter of days and will be the oldest remaining US President alive at age 82. Notably, he is the oldest president to have ever served.
He undertook leadership in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by enacting significant policies, such as the American Rescue Plan of 2021, designed to stabilize the economy through stimulus packages, alongside the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Chips and Science Act.
Notably, President Biden oversaw the controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan, managed the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and the economic aftermath of the pandemic, as well as the war between Israel and Gaza.