'Who knew?' Dem shocked as 'best tribute' to Jimmy Carter comes from unlikely source
Flowers and mementos, including a Habitat for Humanity blue hard hat, rest by the sign of The Carter Presidential Center, paying tribute to the life and legacy of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. December 30, 2024. REUTERS/Octavio Jones

A Democratic senator was shocked to admit that one of the "best tributes" to former President Jimmy Carter came from an unlikely source.

Taking to X on Monday, less than 24 hours after Carter's death was announced, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) posted a statement from outgoing Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (KY).

"Jimmy Carter served as our commander-in-chief for four years, but he served as the beloved, unassuming Sunday school teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia for 40. And his humble devotion leaves us little doubt which of those two important roles he prized the most," read McConnell's statement.

Whitehouse responded: "The best tribute comes from Mitch McConnell. Who knew?"

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In 2018, Carter published his book "Faith: A Journey for All."

Speaking to CBS News' Norah O'Donnell about the book, the former president said, “I still have faith in the long-term correction of our problems.”

"It is urgent that humans take a new look at the rapidly growing need for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Ten Commandments, the Koran, or the teachings of Jesus Christ and to see if these visions of improved human interrelationships might be used to meet the challenges of the present moment and evolve a future of peaceful coexistence, based on faith in each other," Carter wrote in the introduction of the book.