Video of President Jimmy Carter Shaking Hands With Every Plane Passenger on His Flight Goes Viral Again

Usually whenever you see a viral media story pop up on the internet involving airplane passengers, it almost always has some type of negative connotation associated with it. Maybe a guy got belligerently drunk on an airplane and decided to tell a flight attendant they look a lot like David Caruso from King of New York.

Or maybe the clip is of a passenger who thought they were being sneaky after hitting their vape pen aboard a plane right before take off, resulting in their getting unceremoniously booted from the flight.

There have even been some people who've been kicked off of airplanes for screaming while near a baby — like this woman was.

For those well-versed in all of these in-the-air-terror tales, this 2017 video of former president Jimmy Carter taking the time, at around 92 years of age at the time, to personally shake the hands of everyone on the flight he boarded might seem like a breath of fresh air.

In a clip uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) by user James Parker Sheffield (@JayShef), Carter can be seen grinning broadly as he approaches each and every passenger, extending his to each row. The person recording the clip keeps it going even well after he comes up to them for a handshake.

James wrote that the plane was on its way to Washington, D.C., from Atlanta and when the clip first went viral, numerous people in the comments section of the post wrote that his behavior on display in the clip was a testament to the integrity of Carter's character — something he clung to well into his twilight years.

Apparently, this is par for the course for Carter — there was another X user who, in responding to James's video of Carter, wrote that they saw him doing the same exact thing while aboard a flight 25 years prior.

Another person wrote that Carter was one of the last "decent" presidents the United States had, noting the war records of other leaders in a meme that they posted to X.

USA Today reported how Jimmy Carter, who, prior to being elected president of the United States of America, put his successful peanut farm into a blind trust before he took office.

While he didn't give up ownership of the lucrative business, management of the facilities were given to other managers entirely, something that Carter did prior to taking office as a means of avoiding any controversy.

The media outlet wrote of Carter's decision: "It was one of several measures Carter announced before his inauguration to avoid potential conflicts of interest and other ethical concerns, as he outlined in a 1977 statement included in the New York Times digital archive."

Carter's actions while in office seem like a stark contrast to economic decisions of senators and congressional leaders who are still trading stocks despite being in office. While there are proposals put in place that would ban insider trading from those who hold political offices, there are still many governmental leaders who grow their net worth after being sworn in to represent the interests of their constituents and taxpayers at large.

WhiteHouse.gov has also written about Carter's dedication to "human rights," referencing how in 2002 he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in advancing "democracy and human rights."

This award seems to be an extension of his work as president: "In foreign affairs, Carter set his own style. His championing of human rights was coldly received by the Soviet Union and some other nations. In the Middle East, through the Camp David agreement of 1978, he helped bring amity between Egypt and Israel," the White House's website read.

The online resource continued: "He succeeded in obtaining ratification of the Panama Canal treaties. Building upon the work of predecessors, he established full diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and completed negotiation of the SALT II nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union."