[326] By the end of Bush's second term, Carter considered Bush's tenure disappointing, which he disclosed in comments to Forward Magazine of Syria.[327]
Though he praised President Obama in the early part of his tenure,[328] Carter stated his disagreements with the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists, Obama's choice to keep Guantanamo Bay detention camp open,[329] and the current federal surveillance programs as disclosed by Edward Snowden."[330][331]
During the Trump presidency, Carter spoke favorably of the chance for immigration reform through Congress,[332] and criticized Trump for his handling of the U.S. national anthem protests.[333] In October 2017, he defended Trump in an interview with The New York Times, criticizing the media's coverage of him harsher "than any other president certainly that I've known about."[334][335] In 2019, Carter received a phone call from Trump in which he expressed concern that China was "getting ahead" of the United States. Carter agreed, stating that China's strength came from their lack of involvement in armed conflict, calling the U.S. "the most warlike nation in the history of the world.