Trump ends White House tradition of celebrating end of Ramadan
From Eid al-Fitr, a Flipboard topic
US President Donald Trump broke a two-decade-long tradition this weekend by not hosting a White House dinner to celebrate Eid, marking…
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Read it on france24.com
So, I'd just basically heard about this as I was listening to one of my news podcasts. Seeing how he has behaved when facing possibly being in the same room with potential detractors, it doesn't surprise me he'd elected to do this.
He'd elected to not attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and that's only one of the things he'd probably not done since becoming president. I don't blame him, either. Facing potential ugly ridicule -- though some would say it would not be unlike some of the things he's said and posted -- one would probably sit something like this out.
Still, being a world leader, or a leader of any sort, comes with potential ridicule, doesn't it? It would have been nice if he'd have made the gesture, and if he'd gotten some rebuff, he could take it gently, with grace.
I wonder if he'll have anything to say about any critical remarks he's received on not hosting this function. In fact, now I'm wondering if he'll host any function any former president has done.
Not that he has to... I'm only somewhat a traditionalist, so it's not something I can expect of others. Then, the subject of White House tradition is kind of strange, too. Should a president do something just because other presidents have? What is the purpose of tradition?
As I think about the possible reasons President Trump may do certain things, I can, within margin, empathize.
And that's not something I say lightly (and, speaking truthfully, it makes me lightly uncomfortable).
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