National Convention. UPDATED, with details on National Day of Mourning: President Joe Biden has ordered all U.S. flags on federal public buildings and grounds be flown at half-staff for the next 30 days to honor Jimmy Carter, who died today at age 100. Biden also set January 9 as a National Day of Mourning throughout the United States. In remarks this evening, Biden paid tribute to his “great friend” and predecessor in the White House, as a man of “simple decency” who “lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds.” In remarks in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Biden is on vacation, the president also recalled the support that Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, gave to him after his son, Beau, died of cancer. Jimmy knew the ravages of the disease too well,” Biden said. “He lost his father, his brother, his sisters, to this terrible disease. So when Jimmy was diagnosed, we did our best to comfort him.” Carter’s brain cancer, diagnosed in 2015, went into remission. Watch on In today’s world, someone could [look] at Jimmy Carter and see a man of a bygone era with honesty and character. Faith and humility mattered. But I don’t believe it’s a bygone era. I see a man not only of our time, but for all times, someone who embodies the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away.” Like Carter, Biden is leaving office after one term. A reporter asked the president what inspired him about the 39th president, whose post-presidential humanitarian work helped earn him the Nobel Peace Prize. ADVERTISEMENT “Never give up hope. Never give up hope,” Biden said. “I mean it from the bottom of my heart. So much negative this month.” “I think that what Jimmy Carter is an example of is just simple decency, simple decency, and I think that is what the rest of the world looks to America for,” Biden said. In an earlier statement, Biden said that he will be ordering an official state funeral for the former president, but that details were still being arranged with Carter’s family. Traditionally, during such ceremonies, the former president lies in state at the Capitol Rotunda, followed by a funeral at Washington National Cathedral. “Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian,” Biden said in his statement. “Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well.”