Former White House photographer Pete Souza shared photos on Presidents Day of the four living American presidents who did not try to overthrow US democracy.
“On President’s Day, this is a member of the President’s Club today,” Souza, who served as the official photographer during the Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan administrations, wrote Monday on Instagram.
“This is a very exclusive club. It includes all living former Presidents of the United States, except for those who instigated a rebellion and abused their power to try to overturn the election.
The caption was accompanied by pictures of former presidents Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Now it shows the only other living former president, Donald Trump.
It is traditional for former presidents to put aside political differences and even unite to support a common cause after leaving office, and for the president to sit down to ask questions and compare notes with his predecessors about the job so that some can fully understand.
Like other norms, this effectively went out the window with Trump, who reportedly had no interest in being part of an alliance during and after his tenure.
After the inauguration of President Joe Biden in 2021, Obama, Bush and Clinton recorded a joint video speech, praising peaceful presidential succession as the key to American democracy. Although he did not mention Trump by name, his message directly contradicted his efforts to undermine the democratic process after he lost the 2020 election.
Since taking office, Biden has continued that practice, reaching out to those who served before him for their guidance and expertise. He told CNN in 2021 that talking to the former president offered him a job that he might feel burdened by.
Souza often took swipes at Trump by sharing photos and stories he documented during Obama’s presidency. He compared the differences between the two administrations in his 2018 book, “Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents” and the 2020 documentary “The Way I See It.”