THECOUNT.COM "News You Can Count On!" - November 10, 2016
After promising a “smooth transfer of power,” President Barack Obama broke tradition by refusing snap a photo with President-elect Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.
The Obamas canceled a planned photo-op that would have featured the current and future first couples outside the south entrance of the White House.
During their transition, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama posed for the cameras alongside President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush.
Mr. Trump and his wife, Melania, arrived at the White House around 11 a.m.
The president and president-elect will meet in the Oval Office, while Mrs. Trump and first lady Michelle Obama tour the White House residence, where the Trump family will live.
The decision not to participate in this tradition illustrates how bitter the campaign was, particularly for Mrs. Obama who delivered some of the most emotional arguments against electing Mr. Trump.
But this meeting is different given the sitting president has said his successor is unqualified and temperamentally unfit to serve in the White House and mocked his experience as a reality TV star.
Mr. Obama said so as recently as Monday in his final campaign event for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
On Wednesday White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the president still believes Mr. Trump is unfit to succeed him but respects the outcome of the election. h/t wsj
The meeting between a president and his successor is a longtime tradition.
