On Thursday, July 30, former President Barack Obama gave a moving eulogy at the funeral of Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis.
Moments before Obama took the podium, however, President Donald Trump, who chose not to attend the Atlanta funeral, called the White House press core into the Oval Office to cover what he was doing.
President Trump was speaking to the family of murder victim Vanessa Guillen, promising them "he would take action." The White House denied that the unexpected press event was their attempt to "counter-program" Obama's eulogy.
Spokesperson Judd Deere said:
"This meeting has been scheduled for weeks. That's a disgusting question, by the way."
However the President's official schedule was clear until moments before the press was summoned into the Oval Office.
A Trump official later claimed Guillen's family asked for the press to be invited to the meeting.
President Trump has shown a repeated desire to overshadow any accomplishments by his predecessor.
On his first day in office, Trump had his press secretary falsely claim his inaugural crowd was larger than President Obama's.
During his time in Office, President Trump has also claimed the economy is stronger under him than it was under President Obama, a point many economists dispute.
Perhaps most shamefully, the President has frequently accused former President Obama's team, without any evidence, of illegal "spying" on his campaign.
President Trump not only chose to skip Lewis's funeral, which was attended by former Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, but also neglected to pay his respects while Lewis's body was lying in state in the Capitol building.
Whether or not Trump's decision to invite the press into his office was meant to distract from Obama's eulogy, the President's behavior makes it clear he cares far more about his own press clippings than paying respect to national heroes.
