Speaking Out
It was a long-standing tradition…the new president would get to handle things free from direct and public criticism from his predecessors, especially the most recent one. The theory was that regardless of the result of an election, we are one country and needed to get behind the person in the office, whoever he was. Add to that the fact that only 45 different men have had the experience over the 232 years a U.S. president has been in office, so not many truly understand what it’s like to sit in the chair.
But as with all things surrounding Donald Trump, traditions don’t mean a lot.
His predecessor, Barack Obama, starting criticizing Trump midway through his presidency…Obama did it to help polish his legacy and help Democrats get elected. Oh, and to sell books, his quite lengthy books.
Obviously, the transition between president 45 and president 46 was not smooth, and as between the two of them directly, non-existent. Biden did concede that Trump left him a “very generous” letter in the desk in the Oval Office, continuing a tradition that started with Ronald Reagan.
But after a few weeks away from D.C. and the spotlight, during which time he played a lot of golf and lost more than 20 pounds, Trump has been back at it, and has not been shy. I can’t say anyone expected anything different, and maybe that’s why he’s not received criticism for…well, his criticism.
Given the genuine disdain the current president has for his predecessor, demonstrated most recently during what was purported to be a news conference last week, and given how Biden is bent on throwing out anything Trump did, you’d have to imagine anyone in Trump’s position would make his views known publicly, whether he was thinking of staying politically active or not.
Considering the wild policy swings the country has taken from Obama to Trump to Biden, I don’t have a problem with the former, and perhaps future, guy weighing in. Both political parties have done such a terrible job of representing citizens, with the parties themselves becoming so extreme, having someone with experience staying on the public stage is probably helpful. Besides, both number 44 and 45 love the spotlight, and couldn’t help themselves anyway.
