Trump, separated from the Presidents Club, excluded from the PSA of the predecessors

“He made no sign of wanting to be included in those kinds of moments,” an aide to a former president told CNN.

A host of reasons

There doesn’t seem to be a single reason for Trump’s exclusion, said one person involved in the production, but rather the feeling that his participation was never a real possibility.

A spokesperson for the Advertising Council, which produced the spot, said “it was something that started with former presidents while President Trump was still in office” when asked why Trump was not included.

Trump’s spokespersons did not answer questions about why he was not involved.

While in office, Trump administration officials discussed how and when he could receive a coronavirus vaccine, including the prospect of doing so on camera. Still, Trump himself didn’t seem particularly keen to be seen getting the shot, said a person familiar with the situation, even though he was touting his development and wanted to take credit for it.

A former Trump administration official said the former president was also very sensitive to his image after being hospitalized with Covid and did not appear receptive to a photoshoot that could put his health and fitness in good shape again. .

There was also some discussion around the time Ivanka Trump got the shot publicly, an idea that didn’t materialize either. Instead, Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence were the most senior officials in the Trump administration to be seen being shot at.

In the spots, former presidents describe what they missed out on during the pandemic and why they want to get vaccinated. Clinton says he wants to “get back to work” and “be able to move around.” Obama says he misses visiting his mother-in-law and says he wants to “give her a hug and see her on her birthday.” And Bush says he’s “really looking forward to opening day at Texas Rangers Stadium with the stadium full.”

Former President Jimmy Carter is not speaking on camera, but the 96-year-old Democrat said during the spot that he was being vaccinated “because we want this pandemic to end as soon as possible.”

The announcement ends with the four former presidents urging Americans to get vaccinated as footage of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Barack and Michelle Obama, George and Laura Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton receive all of their vaccines.

‘Incredible work’

Almost a year ago, Trump was asked if he would consult with former presidents on how to handle the pandemic, a once common practice for presidents facing large-scale crises.

“I think we’re doing an amazing job. So I don’t want to bother them, bother them,” he said during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing. “I don’t think I’ll learn much and, you know, I guess you could say there’s probably a natural tendency not to call.”

These portraits were returned to their original location under Biden, who demonstrated a desire to cultivate a more functional relationship with his predecessors. He told a CNN town hall earlier this year that he had spoken to all but one of the living former presidents – presumably Trump, although he did not name him.

“All of them, with one exception, picked up the phone and called me,” he told Anderson Cooper.

These types of consultations were mostly absent during Trump’s tenure, who rarely – if ever – spoke with the men who held office before him. The only time the group met, for the funeral of former President George HW Bush at the Washington National Cathedral, it was a somewhat chilly reception.

Trump broke the precedent again by boycotting Biden’s inauguration, choosing instead to leave Washington on the morning of January 20 with a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews.

He left a note for Biden, which the president described as “very generous,” but has otherwise been severely critical of his successor in statements expelled from his Florida headquarters.