President Donald Trump has recently revealed that the traditional unveiling of Barack Obama’s White House Portrait will not be done as of right now.

This is a very old event that took place in order to have a carefree meeting of two leaders, even if they are from different parties. This action taken by the president, however abrupt, is not a surprise.

Obama and Trump’s relationship is definitely not the best between presidents. Trump’s accusations toward Obama have been aggressive and continuous, and Obama’s known to not be a fan of Trump’s presidency. The date has been indefinitely postponed, and while this could have something to do with the current Coronavirus, the scheduling of this event has not been successful.

This tradition being broken can be seen as a terrible mistake. This is a way for a president and his or her predecessor to be peaceful and cordial to each other despite their differences. In itself, it is a symbol of democracy and shows the country’s respect for others’ opinions. This may symbolize the increasing lack of respect our opposing parties have for each other in today’s day and age. Presidents recall this tradition as being a great moment for them to look back into the halls of the White House and recollect the  memories of their time there. Being president can surely be understood as an incredible and unique time period in the lives of the former presidents. Walking through the halls again and seeing the many pictures of the president’s past is something that makes the White House so special.

The ending of the tradition to ceremonially display a new president’s portrait is hopefully not the case. This cancellation would have been done anyway due to the Coronavirus, but it’s continuation in the future now is uncertain due to the hostile feelings between the two presidents. A date in the future has not been set, but hopefully the hostility can be put aside in order to set it.