How SWFL man secured 1-on-1 interview with former President Carter

Reporter: Lois Thome Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:

WINK News continues its coverage of President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, as an airsick bag helped a Southwest Florida man secure a coveted one-on-one interview with the former president.

John Biffar was on assignment for WINK News in Africa when fate put him on the same return flight.

“It all happened very much by happenstance,” said Biffar.

Filmmaker Biffar was returning from a shoot on the first flight from Southwest Florida to Cabo Verde Islands in 1987 when the unexpected happened on a connecting flight.

“He was standing right in front of me, and I said, ‘Excuse me, Mr. President,’ and I introduced myself from WINK TV. I said, ‘Would you mind doing an interview? We just came back from Africa.’ And he said, ‘Well, let me think about it, and what are your questions?’ He asked me to write the questions down. So I did, but the only thing I had to write with was the airsick bag that was in the seat in front of me. About 20 minutes before we landed, the Secret Service came back and said the president has agreed to do your interview,” said Biffar.

Biffar believes it was the former president’s love of Africa and its people that scored him that interview.

“It was a great passion of his. You know, the underserved of the world everywhere was a passion of his, and so it intrigued him that we were just there,” said Biffar.

President Carter was the first U.S. president to make a state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa. He and his wife, Roselyn, visited the country many times after their time in the White House, working to eliminate disease and meeting with African leaders to secure fair elections, human rights and peace among warring regions.

“He was still serving the world, and I think he was really just finding his own groove and making a big impact worldwide. He lived by Christian principles that were always, I believe, his guiding light, helping others treat others the way you want to be treated. The basics but I think we need his legacy today and his example,” said Biffan.

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