In contrasting his own transition with Trump’s obsession, Obama quietly set a standard for what a president is supposed to worry about: wars, jobs, crises—not the ghost of the last occupant. That contrast lands hardest with a country exhausted by grievance politics. Obama stepped back and, in doing so, stepped above, casting Trump as a man trapped in a mental loop he can’t escape. The cruelest part of the verdict is its permanence: every future outburst only proves Obama right.
THE ULTIMATE SHUTDOWN: Barack Obama Deploys a Devastating Five-Word Takedown of Donald Trump’s Bizarre Obsession