Does Trump Realize There Can Only be One President at a Time?
Not only did the president-elect fail to heed the message -- he bristled at it. With typical Trumpian gall, he managed to take umbrage at Obama’s conduct during the transition. “Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “Thought it was going to be a smooth transition -- NOT!”
Trump’s definition of a smooth transition: one that goes entirely his way. So what were these “inflammatory” statements that set Trump off? Just about anything can trigger his wrath. Perhaps it was Obama, at Pearl Harbor with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, exhorting Americans to “resist the urge to turn inward” or “to demonize those who are different.” Perhaps it was Obama boasting he would have beaten Trump if allowed to run.
Well, that’s certainly inflammatory. How dare Obama?
Maybe Trump’s disrespectful conduct toward Obama shouldn’t be so surprising. After all, long before the election, Senate Republicans acted as if the Obama presidency had already ended, refusing even to consider his Supreme Court nominee.
In that sense, Trump is merely following an especially ugly, anti- constitutional party line. Imagine how President Trump, in office, would respond to such incursions on his authority -- and how President Trump, on his way out, would deal with a successor behaving this churlishly.
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Ruth Marcus’ email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.
(c) 2016, Washington Post Writers Group
