Breaking with a tradition begun four decades ago when Jimmy Carter invited Gerald Ford to the White House for the unveiling of Ford’s official presidential portrait, President Donald Trump will not unveil the portrait of his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Trump denies any part in the refusal to unveil the portrait, adding, “I don’t know anything about the moustache and missing tooth someone drew on it with a Sharpie, either.”
The move is the latest example of Trump’s psychological obsession with Obama, which has led the president to promote a series of false accusations and conspiracy theories, from the racist birtherism movement to the more recent “Obamagate.”
It is also the latest in a long series of norms and traditions violated by Trump, whose racially-tinged divisiveness and incivility towards reporters and political opponents have been well documented; a Brookings Institute survey of political scientists and historians found Trump the most divisive president in American history.
Apparently referring to another presidential tradition–the annual White House Christmas tree ornament–Trump reportedly told staffers, “Obama’s only legacy here will be hanging from a tree.”