Presidency of Jimmy Carter a party platform calling for the establishment of a national health insurance program, Kennedy refused to concede. He instead called for an "open convention", in which delegates would be free to vote for the candidate of their choice regardless of the result in the primaries. Carter's allies defeated Kennedy's maneuverings at the 1980 Democratic National Convention, and Carter and Vice President Mondale won re-nomination. Despite Kennedy's defeat, he had mobilized the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which would give Carter only weak support in the general election. The 1980 Republican presidential primaries quickly developed into a two-man contest between
Jimmy Carter would lose, noting the differing circumstances of the political climate from when he was still an active politician. As the primary continued, Carter stated he would prefer Trump over his main rival Ted Cruz, though rebuked the Trump campaign in remarks during the primary, and in his address to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. In the Democratic primary, Carter voted for Senator Bernie Sanders, and in the general election, voted for Hillary Clinton. In October 2017, however, Carter defended President Trump in an interview with The New York Times, criticizing the media's coverage of him. "I think the media have