Former President Jimmy Carter

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter spoke out Wednesday about the 2016 presidential campaign, calling out Republican front-runner Donald Trump by name and blaming a Supreme Court decision for letting “legal bribery” corrupt the campaign finance system. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Carter said he saw the parties’ focus on funding as the most significant change in American politics since he left office in 1981, the Guardian reported.

“I didn’t have any money. Now there is a massive infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars into campaigns for all the candidates,” Carter said in London. “Some candidates like Trump can put in his own money, but others have to be able to raise $100 million to $200 million just to get the Republican or Democratic nomination.”

Carter went on to blame the “erroneous” 2010 Citizens United decision that said corporations” and unions’ political spending was protected under the First Amendment. “As the rich people finance the campaigns, when candidates get in office they do what the rich people want,” he added. […]