Obama vs Trump

Obama vs. Trump
On 7th September, 2018, Barack Obama, our former president, went against a long held tradition whereby former presidents avoid directly criticizing their successors. Amongst other things, Obama blamed the sitting president for taking credit for the nation’s economic advancement when the same had actually stated when he (Obama) was in office. He also voiced his concerns with Trumps occasional criticism of constitutional bodies such as the Justice Department. In addition to criticizing President Trump, Obama also had unkind words for Republicans. He largely blamed the GOP for failure to take decisive punitive actions against Russia for meddling in the U.S. elections in 2016.
It is, however, important to note that President Trump has also in the past criticized his predecessor on numerous occasions. For instance, earlier this year, the current president was critical of his predecessor’s way of handling the Russian hacks. It is important to note that unlike any other president before him, Trump does not shy away from making use of social media to tell off his critics – or persons he doesn’t particularly like. Former president Obama has featured in some of Trump’s ‘hate’ tweets. On June 18th president Trump tweeted: “if President Obama [who got nowhere with North Korea and would had to go to war with many millions of people being killed] had gotten along North Korea and made the initial steps towards a deal that I have, the fake news would have named him a national hero!” In this tweet, Trump appeared to question Obama’s judgment and leadership skills during his time in the White House.
It should also be noted that Trump has also in the past criticized members of his own party. Some examples of such instances include:
March 30th 2017: Trump tweeted that Senators Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, and Raul Labrador were apparently thwarting attempts to implement “massive tax cuts and reform.”
July 26th 2017: Trump twitted that Senator Lisa Murkowski was effectively letting “republicans, and our country down… too bad!!!” This was after the senator contributed in frustrating Trump’s efforts to repeal Obamacare.
August 24th 2017: Trump tweeted that the only concern he had regarding Senator Mitch McConnell had to do with the fact that “after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed!”
August 25th 2017: Trump twitted that Senator Bob Corker had been pestering him with questions on “whether or not he should run again in ’18. Tennessee not happy!”
It is important to note that although Obama’s criticism of President Trump has been received with mixed reactions from across the political divide, I am of the opinion that there are conservatives who are convinced that Obama ought to have been more critical of the current president and his policies from the onset. This is more so the case given that in his criticism of Trump, Obama was categorical that “the politics of resentment and paranoia has unfortunately found a home in the Republican Party…” In the former president’s opinion, there was nothing conservative about the policies being pursued by the GOP leadership. No conservative has, however, been quoted in the press alluding to Obama’s cowardice for not publicly speaking against Trump in the past.
It is important to note that in the past, sitting and former American presidents have generally kept from criticizing each other. This, however, seems to have changed with the inauguration of President Trump. It is instructive to note that in his inaugural address, President Trump spewed harsh rhetoric and made it clear that America had been shortchanged by its former presidents. Some of the presidents who have been critical of President Trump, apart from Obama, include Jimmy Carter who has expressed concern over Donald Trump’s human rights record.
So far, President Trump holds the distinction for his constant criticism of the press. It should, however, be noted that presidential feuds with members of the Fourth Estate are really nothing new. For instance, during his term, Clinton was categorical that the press was unfair to him over the media storm that ensued after allegations of sexual misconduct were leveled against him. Before him, Nixon was convinced that the press was against him and at some point even called for an audit of his “enemies” in the media industry.