It was revealed on Tuesday morning, May 19, that the long-held tradition of previous presidents returning to the White House to meet with their successor to unveil their portraits will be skipped.
At the past unveiling ceremonies, the former president, first lady, staff and close friends and family are able to meet with the current White House occupant and his administration and family.
However, as Trump's first term comes to an end, people familiar with the matter told NBC that the unveiling of the Obamas' portraits will not happen during Trump's presidency due to the bitter feud between Trump and Obama.
If Trump wins a second term in November, Obama may have to wait until 2025 to have his portrait revealed and displayed in the White House among every U.S. president before him.
According to inside reports, Obama has no interest in participating in the post-presidency tradition as long as Trump is in office and Trump has no qualms with snubbing a presidential custom.
This will be the first time as far back as the 1970s that this tradition will be skipped. The tradition held even for past American presidents who have issued harsh criticism of each other or ousted the other from office in sour races.
Jimmy Carter welcomed Gerald Ford and his wife Betty back to the White House just four years after Carter had defeated Ford in his reelection bid for the first formal East Room ceremony in 1980.
And after George H. W. Bush lost reelection, Bill Clinton still hosted Bush in the East Room, saying "Welcome home."
When Obama hosted former President George W. Bush for his portrait unveiling in 2012, he said:
"We may have our differences politically, but the presidency transcends those differences."It appears Trump and Obama will not be able to move past their differences for the tradition to hold this time.
The break from tradition comes as Trump and Obama have recently upped their public attacks toward one another.
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