So long as everyone expected a Hillary Clinton victory in November’s presidential election, high-minded rhetoric ruled the day at the White House. Michelle Obama’s quote from the Clinton campaign trail—”When they go low, we go high”—became something of a mantra. Initially, Barack Obama even spoke about the importance of a smooth transition of power. But lately, that’s not what’s been happening.
Tensions finally spilled over when Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday, “Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks. Thought it was going to be a smooth transition – NOT!” Trump sounded more conciliatory toward Obama later that same day, but he’s not wrong about the current president’s statements and roadblocks. There are plenty of sources in news reports quietly confirming Trump is rather frustrated with Obama’s actions.
As for putting up roadblocks, despite Obama warning Trump not to rely too much on executive action, the president has been hastily preparing lots of last minute executive actions. This was specifically in reference to Obama’s sweeping drilling ban, efforts to make it difficult to defund Planned Parenthood, and a few other measures.
Since then, it appears Obama was just getting warmed up. He hung Israel out to dry at the United Nations, a move even opposed by the leaders of his own party. He created a massive national monument in southern Utah that amounts to a federal land grab about the size of Delaware, angering Utah’s governor and entire congressional delegation. He’s made a perhaps feckless stab at retaliating against Russia, leaving Trump to decide to continue enforcing his Russian sanctions and expulsion of diplomats.
While Russia has certainly been engaged in malfeasance against the United States, the way the White House and the media are presenting it, this is comeuppance for “hacking the election.” Strictly speaking, this is not true—and even intentionally misleading. It glosses over Hillary Clinton’s enormous failings as a candidate. But after Trump pushed birtherism for years, you can imagine this vindictive tack designed to make Trump’s electoral victory look illegitimate has a certain appeal. Last but not least, there’s the Obama administration’s predictable onslaught of thousands of new regulations.
Obama’s public statements have been a smorgasboard of self-justifications for a largely failed presidency, along with barbs at Trump. Obama recently mused that he would have beaten Trump if he could run again. Even if that were a verifiable conjecture, it’s a petty way for Obama to console himself and a good reminder Trump is hardly the first raging egoist to be elected president. Obama has only about three weeks left as president, and there’s still time for more insufferable monkey-wrenching. “Obama is scheduled to give a farewell address Jan. 10 that is expected to be a recounting of his successes and an inherent contrast with Trump and the administration,” notes Politico.
If anything, all of this is just a reminder that George W. Bush was a much more well-mannered ex-president. After the Clintons gracelessly left the office, vandalizing the White House in the process, George W. Bush took a “do unto others” approach to presidential transitions. When the inauguration of America’s first black president was poised to be so large as to shut down Washington, Bush had it declared a national emergency and dipped into FEMA funds to pay for it. I’d like to imagine that Bush had a grim sense of irony, but I suspect he was just kind and accommodating.
