The former US president, Democrat Jimmy Carter, spoke at Liberty University, a bastion of Republican conservative Christianity, on Saturday, in a counter-intuitive pairing that saw him warmly applauded by the audience.
Carter, the first evangelical president in modern times, has been vilified by the right for his political views and for refusal to engage in the 'culture wars' characteristic of much modern evangelicalism. He offered a gentle jab at President Trump, who delivered the address last year, saying Liberty's president Jerry Falwell Jr 'told me before we came here, that [the crowd was] even bigger, I hate to say this, than it was last year. I don't know if President Trump would admit that or not.'
Trump's first controversy as president was when he became embroiled in a row about the size of the crowd at his inauguration, which his press secretary Sean Spicer wrongly said was the largest ever.
Carter left the Southern Baptist Convention over its increasingly conservative theology, notably its position on the role of women. He has since said he believes Jesus would approve of gay marriage.
In spite of their political and theological differences, he was warmly introduced by Falwell, who praised his kindness, warmth and humility.
In his address, Carter emphasised the need to combat sexism and other forms of discrimination, and spoke of the problems of wealth disparity and the threat of nuclear war. He also warned of the prevalence of human trafficking and rising prison populations.
He received a standing ovation from the audience.
