Presidential Odd Couple: After a Tough Race, Carter and Ford Became Friends NYT | Top Stories Peter Baker 9 January 2025 at 06:20 Jimmy Carter and Gerald R. Ford faced off in 1976 in a bitter campaign but later bonded as few presidents have — and made a pact to speak at each other’s funerals. © Rob Kozloff/Associated PressFormer Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1984.