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'He brought us back alive': A former hostage remembers Jimmy Carter​

January 11, 20258:00 AM ET

Former President Jimmy Carter left Washington for the final time Thursday afternoon. The nation's capital was never a comfortable place for the man from Plains, Georgia, and it's generally believed that Carter was a better former president than president.

One reason for that perception is the Iranian hostage crisis for the last 444 days of Carter's presidency.

52 Americans were held prisoner at the U.S. embassy in Iran, including Barry Rosen, who was the then-press attaché at the embassy.

"I sincerely believe that he saved our lives," Rosen said. "He sacrificed his presidency and worked assiduously for those 444 days to make our freedom the uppermost in his mind."
 
Out of the many mourning former President Jimmy Carter, not everyone can say he saved their life.
Rocky Sickmann was a 22-year-old US Marine stationed at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, when he and 51 other Americans were taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries on 4 November, 1979.
It defined his life - as well as much of Carter's presidency.
"For the first 30 days I'm sitting in this room handcuffed and blindfolded, thinking the Vietnam war had just ended, and nobody cared about these thousands of veterans coming home," said the 67-year-old. "Who's going to care about the Iran hostages?"
He said that at the time, he wasn't even sure how much President Carter cared. It was a sentiment echoed by much of the American public. Many blamed Carter for his failure to bring the hostages home for over a year.
Political historians say part of the reason Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide - and served only one term as president - was because of his handling of the hostage crisis.
Minutes after Reagan was sworn in, the hostages were released, although the deal had been in the works during Carter's presidency.
Mr Sickmann said that Carter deserves to be forever admired for his relentless attempt to bring them home.
"He was a good man who wanted diplomacy. I found out after how deeply involved he was. He knew my parents. He took care of them, he would meet them in DC."

Getty Images American hostages leave a plane joyously with arms in air, next to a sign that says: Welcome back to Freedom
Getty Images
American hostages land in Wiesbaden, Germany on 20 January, 1981
When Mr Sickmann finally got to meet Carter himself, he wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion.
He laughs: "We met him in our pyjamas! How do you meet your commander-in-chief dressed like that!"
Rocky was flown out with the other hostages to Wiesbaden, Germany, a year after they had been taken hostage. The day after they got there, Carter greeted them personally.
"It was a very exciting day because he used to be in the Marines and he said to meet us was the happiest day of his life."
The meeting was captured in a photograph, which Carter would send to Sickmann 10 months after he had been voted out of the White House. It was signed: 'To my friend, Rocky Sickmann".
But it was not the last time that Mr Sickmann saw him. Just 10 years ago, he ran into Carter at a baseball game in Georgia. He had an usher pass the former president a note.
"He reads it - all of a sudden he gets up and he stands up and he turns around. I stand up and we waved at each other."

Submitted photo A letter on Jimmy Carter's White House stationary reads: Enclosed is a photo of us together in Wiesbaden, the day after you were released from imprisonment. This was the one of the happiest days of my life, and I wanted to share the memory of it with you in this way. With best wishes, sincerely, Jimmy.
Submitted photo
Like Carter, Mr Sickmann went on to focus on charitable work. He said he was inspired by the former president to set up Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of Americaʼs fallen or disabled military and first responders.
"President Carter was a good Christian man, married to his wonderful wife, and continued his life of service. I don't know if I'll ever be as good as him but I hope to be able to do the same thing."
The charity was set up to honor the 8 US service men who were killed trying to rescue the hostages. In 1980, the mission, dubbed Eagle Claw, failed disastrously after three helicopters malfunctioned. It was the last straw for Carter politically - although he won the Democratic nomination, he was wiped out in the election by Ronald Reagan that year.
But while the Iran hostage crisis would be a dark mark on Carter's political legacy, Mr Sickmann said he owes his life to Jimmy Carter.
"Morning, noon, and night, for 444 days, I never prayed so hard in my life, hoping that God was on our side," he said.
"But also President Carter kept us alive. He kept us in front of the world, making sure that people were praying for us (too)."
 

Donald Trump Jnr got homeless Greenlanders to don Maga hats for free lunch, report says​

Trump employees recruited people on the street by promising them an expensive restaurant meal, according to a Danish radio station

Donald Trump Jnr, the son of the incoming US president, and his companions are reported to have recruited people in Greenland with the prospect of a free lunch in an expensive hotel to portray them as Trump supporters in videos.

The Danish radio station DR reported that it had heard from several sources that the videos, made during the group’s short trip to Greenland, showed homeless people and others who often hang around in front of a supermarket next to the hotel.

“These are homeless and old people who could suddenly eat in a restaurant they have never been to before,” a long-time resident of the capital Nuuk was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.



All they had to do to be part of it was put on “Make America Great Again” caps and participate in the videos.

Videos from the Ekstra Bladet newspaper showed how people on the street were approached by Trump employees and given “Maga” caps.​

 

Trump Supporter Featured in Truth Social Video Is Convicted Drug Offender​


Danish media outlet DR News reported that Trump's video features Timmy Zeeb, who has a "long list of convictions behind him." In 2019, Zeeb was sentenced to four years in prison in one of the country's largest cannabis cases.

Ten years prior, Zeeb was known for "crimes that were dangerous to people." DR News reported that Zeeb had escaped from prison at the time.
 
www.foxnews.com

DNC hires former Harris staffers behind @KamalaHQ for social media response to Trump

Democrats are launching a new social media account to highlight how "Trump and his administration are screwing over the American people."
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com

The social team will now focus on building a new @FactPostNews brand for the Democratic Party across X, Threads and Bluesky, with plans to expand to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. The account will seek to counter so-called "misinformation" from President-elect Trump's administration in real time.


You lost, big time. Continuing with the same strategy that lost the election. Wake up. You are irrelevant and nobody is listening. Well, maybe the sick left is.
 
www.foxnews.com

Dean Cain predicts California wildfire catastrophe will change how Hollywood votes

Actor Dean Cain said he is devastated by the destruction in Malibu, California, where he grew up, and nearby Pacific Palisades, adding that all six homes he lived in at different times there have been destroyed by this week's wildfires.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com

It may just test the level of indoctrination in CA. Sad that it take a natural disaster for people to wake up. Although it may just be short lived.
 
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