WASHINGTON (AP) — Jimmy Carter and the man he beat for president, Gerald Ford, got so tight after office that their friendship became a kind of buddy movie, complete with road trips that were never long enough because they had so much to gab about.

Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford may have started as political rivals, but they formed a tight bond behind the scenes, a former White House staffer tells PEOPLE. Their connection would span dec

Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter ran a heated campaign against incumbent President Gerald Ford. But in a development that seems increasingly foreign to today's partisan environment, the two political foes became friends after Carter himself left the White House.